PRIVILEGE MOTION

• A privilege motion is a motion that can be moved in the Indian Parliament by a member if they believe that their privileges or the privileges of the House have been violated. Privileges are certain rights and immunities that are granted to members of Parliament so that they can effectively discharge their functions
• The rules governing privilege motions are set out in the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. A privilege motion must be moved in writing and must be signed by the member who is moving it. The motion must be specific and must set out the details of the alleged breach of privilege
• Once a privilege motion has been moved, it is referred to the Privileges Committee of the House.
• The Privileges Committee is a standing committee of the House that is responsible for investigating allegations of breach of privilege.
• The Committee has the power to summon witnesses, take evidence, and make recommendations to the House
• If there is a belief that such a privilege has been breached, a motion can be raised by any member.
• It can be admitted by the Chairman. They can then refer it to the Privileges Committee. The Chairman can, from time to time, nominate such a Committee, consisting of ten members.
• It will also have a Chairman appointed by the Rajya Sabha Chairman

• Similar provisions exist in Lok Sabha with the Speaker having the power to make such decisions.
• The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion. Therefore, the Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament

• The mandate of the committee is to examine such cases and “make such recommendations as it may deem fit”
•  It can call the relevant people as part of its examination and look at related documents.
•  It has to then make a report and if the Council has not fixed any time for its presentation, the report shall be presented within one month of the date on which reference to the Committee was made
• A motion has to be passed for the consideration of the report and amendments can be suggested
• The Chairman or any member of the Committee or any other member can move that the Council agrees, disagrees, or agrees with amendments, with the recommendations contained in the report

• A large number of notices are rejected, with penal action recommended in only a few cases
• The most significant case was in 1978 when Indira Gandhi, who had just won the Lok Sabha elections from Chikmaglur, was expelled from the House
• Home minister Charan Singh moved a resolution of breach of privilege against her following observations made by the Justice Shah Commission, which probed excesses during the Emergency
• Another case was the expulsion of Subramanian Swamy from the Rajya Sabha in 1976
• Swamy was charged with bringing disrepute to Parliament through his activities through interviews in foreign publications that were construed as “anti-India propaganda”