Privilege motion

• There was a commotion in the Rajasthan Assembly as a result of a breach of privilege motion brought against senior BJP MLA and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore.

About Privilege motion:

• To efficiently carry out their duties and activities, all Members of Parliament (MPs) are granted rights and privileges, both individually and collectively.
• Any case in which these privileges and rights are violated by a Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha member constitutes a "breach of privilege" offense that is sanctioned by law.
• Any member of either house may move a motion to move a notice of motion against the person they believe to be in violation of the privilege.
• Both Houses of Parliament reserve the right to impose legal sanctions on any act of contempt (not necessarily a privilege violation) that is contrary to their authority and dignity.

The rules governing privilege:

• Privilege is governed by Rule No. 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and by Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha Rule Book.
• It states that a member may raise a question regarding a breach of privilege of a member, the House, or a committee thereof with the approval of the Speaker or the Chairperson.
• However, according to the regulations, any notice must be related to a recent event and must call for the House's involvement.

The Speaker's/Rajya Sabha Chair's responsibilities:

• A privilege motion is initially examined by the Speaker/RS chairperson.
• The privilege motion may be decided on by the Speaker/Chair or referred to the Parliamentary privileges committee.
• The member in question is given the chance to make a brief speech if the Speaker/Chair granted permission in accordance with Rule 222.

Syllabus subtopic: Parliament and State Legislatures—Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers & Privileges and Issues Arising out of these.

Prelims and Mains focus: about the privilege motion: procedure and role of speaker/chairperson; about SC judgement on reservations in job, promotions

News: Lok Sabha Speaker informed the House that he had received the notice of privilege motion moved by the Congress against Social Justice Minister for his statement on the Supreme Court order on the issue of reservation in promotion for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Why?

• The Congress accused the minister of ‘misleading’ the House by stating that the case pertained to a decision of the Uttarakhand government in 2012 when the Congress was in power.

• The Minister had also informed that the Centre was not a party to the case and assured that ‘appropriate steps’ would be taken.

• Stating that it was a misleading argument, Congress MPs not only moved a privilege motion but also read out the names of advocates who represented the BJP government Uttarakhand in the Supreme Court. However, the Speaker cut him by short stating that the motion is under his consideration.

About Privilege Motion

Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”. When any of these rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament.

Procedure

A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege. Each House also claims the right to punish as contempt actions which, while not breach of any specific privilege, are offences against its authority and dignity.

Rules governing the privilege motion

• Rule No 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and correspondingly Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook governs privilege.

• It says that a member may, with the consent of the Speaker or the Chairperson, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or of a committee thereof.

• The rules however mandate that any notice should be relating to an incident of recent occurrence and should need the intervention of the House. Notices have to be given before 10 am to the Speaker or the Chairperson.

Role of the Speaker/Chairman

• The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion.

• The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.

• If the Speaker/Chair gives consent under Rule 222, the member concerned is given an opportunity to make a short statement.

Privileges committees in the Parliament

• In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker nominates a committee of privileges consisting of 15 members as per respective party strengths. A report is then presented to the House for its consideration. The Speaker may permit a half-hour debate while considering the report. The Speaker may then pass final orders or direct that the report be tabled before the House.

• A resolution may then be moved relating to the breach of privilege that has to be unanimously passed.

• In the Rajya Sabha, the deputy chairperson heads the committee of privileges, that consists of 10 members.