PV Narasimha Rao was the ninth Prime Minister of India, from June 1991 to Might 1996 (File).
New Delhi:
In a landmark verdict by the Supreme Court, a seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stated members of parliament and state legislatures will not be immune from prosecution in bribery circumstances. The verdict set aside a 1998 judgment in which the court ruled in favour of immunity in circumstances the place MPs or MLAs take bribes for a speech or a vote in Parliament or the Meeting.
Bribery, the courtroom stated Monday, isn’t protected by parliamentary privileges and overturned its 1998 verdict – the PV Narasimha Rao case, through which the ex-Prime Minister and others accused of bribing MPs to vote for the Congress-led authorities in a no-trust movement have been dominated to have immunity from legal prosecution for any speech made and/or any vote forged contained in the Home.
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“We have now independently adjudicated on all features of the controversy. Do Parliamentarians get pleasure from immunity? We disagree and overrule the bulk on this facet,” the Chief Justice stated.
PV Narasimha Rao Case Background
The Congress-led alliance that got here to energy after the 1991 normal election was a minority administration; driving the tail finish of a wave of sympathy following ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in Tamil Nadu, the Congress received 232 of the 487 seats, beneath the bulk mark of 272.
Mr Rao’s tenure noticed a number of challenges, together with a serious monetary disaster that triggered the 1991 financial liberalisation insurance policies that was a political sizzling potato. The federal government additionally confronted criticism for the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992, and the communal violence that adopted.
On the again of those, the opposition launched a no-confidence movement in July 1993.
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The Congress on the time had 251 votes, together with these from different events providing exterior help. This left the social gathering no less than a dozen wanting easy majority.
Nevertheless, when voting occurred, the federal government survived by a 14-vote margin.
A 12 months later there have been allegations that six MPs from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, together with social gathering stalwart and former Chief Minister Shibu Soren, had taken bribes to vote for the federal government.
Nevertheless, on the time the courtroom held that the lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution prolonged to votes and speeches within the Home; this was below Article 105 and Article 194 of the Structure.
JMM Chief Sita Soren’s Problem
In 2012, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Sita Soren (Shibu Soren’s daughter-in-law), who was accused of taking a bribe to forged a vote in a Rajya Sabha election, claimed immunity citing the 1998 case.
READ | Supreme Court To Reconsider 1998 Verdict On MPs’ Immunity
The Jharkhand Excessive Court docket dismissed her enchantment, and that dismissal was, in flip, challenged within the Supreme Court docket. The highest courtroom, in September final 12 months, agreed to rethink its 1998 judgment, saying it was an vital concern having a big bearing on “morality of polity”.
What Did Supreme Court docket Say At the moment?
After in depth hearings, the highest courtroom ultimate stated {that a} declare for immunity in such conditions didn’t move the check of being essential to discharge legislative features.
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“We maintain that bribery isn’t protected by Parliamentary privileges. Corruption and bribery by legislators destroy the functioning of Indian Parliamentary democracy. An MLA taking a bribe to vote in Rajya Sabha elections can be liable below the Prevention of Corruption Act,” the courtroom stated.
The PV Narasimha judgment, the Chief Justice stated, resulted in a “paradoxical scenario” through which a legislator who accepts a bribe and votes accordingly is protected whereas a legislator who votes independently regardless of taking a bribe is prosecuted.
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