PARLIAMENTARY

PRIVILEGES AND
LEGISLATURE V.
JUDICIARY
BY
NAME : GAURI.S
BBA LLB (A)
ROLL NO : 56
 WHAT IS PARLIAMENT ?

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. Legislature of the Union,
which is called Parliament, consists of the President and two Houses, known as Council of States (Rajya
Sabha) and House of the People (Lok Sabha). The main function of both the Houses is to make laws. Every
Bill has to be passed by both the Houses and assented to by the President before it becomes law. The
subjects over which Parliament can legislate are the subjects mentioned under the Union List in the
Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGES

• Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of
Parliament, their committees and their members.
• These privileges are defined in Article 105 of the Indian Constitution. Under these privileges, the
members of Parliament are exempted from any civil liability (but not criminal liability) for any statement
made or act done in the course of their duties.
• The privileges are claimed only when the person is a member of the house.
• As soon as s/he ends to be a member, the privileges are said to be called off.
PRIVILEGES
1. Freedom of Speech in Parliament:
• The freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to a citizen under Article 19(2) is different from the
freedom of speech and expression provided to a member of the parliament.
• It has been guaranteed under Article 105(1) of the Indian constitution. But the freedom is subject to
rules and orders which regulate the proceedings of the parliament.
• Limitations : Freedom of speech should be in accordance with the constitutional provisions and subject
to rules and procedures of the parliament, as stated under Article 118 of the Constitution.
2. Freedom from being arrested
The member of parliament cannot be arrested 40 days before and 40 days after the session of the house. If
in any case a member of Parliament is arrested within this period, the concerned person should be
released in order to attend the session freely.
PRIVILEGES

3. Right to Prohibit the Publication of Proceedings:

• Article 105(2) of the Constitution, no person shall be held liable for publishing any reports, discussions
etc. of the house under the authority of the member of the house.
• For paramount and national importance, it is essential that the proceedings should be communicated to
the public to aware them of what is going on in the parliament.
4. Right to Exclude Strangers:
The members of the house have the power and right to exclude strangers who are not members of the
house from the proceedings. This right is very essential for securing free and fair discussion in the house.
PRIVILEGES

5. Right to regulate internal proceedings

The House has the right to regulate its own internal proceedings and also has the right to call for the
session of the Legislative assembly. But it does not have any authority in interrupting the proceedings by
directing the speaker of the assembly.
6. Right to punish members or outsiders for contempt
This right has been given to every house of the Parliament. If any of its members or maybe non-members
commit contempt or breach any of the privileges given to him/her, the houses may punish the person.
The houses have the right to punish any person for any contempt made against the houses in the present
or in the past.
LEGISLATURE V. JUDICIARY
• The doctrine of separation of powers implies that each pillar of democracy – the executive, legislature
and the judiciary – perform separate functions and act as separate entities. The legislature is
empowered to issue enactments. The judiciary is responsible for adjudicating disputes. the judiciary
exercises judicial review over executive and legislative action, and the legislature reviews the
functioning of the executive.
• The judiciary can strike down laws that it considers unconstitutional or arbitrary.
• The legislature, on its part, has protested against judicial activism and tried to frame laws to circumvent
certain judgements.
• Judicial activism is said to be against the principle of separation of powers.
• There have been instances where the courts have issued laws and policies through judgements. For
example, the Vishakha Guidelines where the SC issued guidelines on sexual harassment.
LEGISLATIVE V. JUDICIARY

• Legislature: To govern a country efficiently we need policies and laws. The function of the legislative is
to form policies and laws that will govern the nation. The Union Parliament is chiefly concerned with
this function. To ensure that these functions are duly followed, Constitution of India provides for two
houses, Lok Sabha or the Lower House and Rajya Sabha or the Upper House. Together these houses
ensure that the legislative functions of the Government are executed properly by passing relevant laws
and making citizen friendly policies.
• Judiciary : Judiciary ensures that those who do not follow the rules are duly punished. It also acts as a
conflict resolver for the government. In order to ensure justice and fairness, the judiciary has been
made independent of the other two functions. Thus, a court has the authority to try members of
Parliament, members of the executive and citizens of the country, if it finds them guilty of any misdeed.
CASE LAWS RELATED TO LEGISLATURE
V.JUDICIARY
• Golaknath v. State of Punjab
• One of the earliest instances where the Supreme Court of India went against the decision of the
Government and observed that a constitutional amendment by the Parliament could not curtail the
fundamental rights of the citizens of India.

• 1973: Kesavananda Bharati v. Union of India

• In reply to the Golaknath judgement, the then Government made three amendments to the
Constitution, after which the Supreme Court held that the Parliament does have the power to amend
the Constitution, including fundamental rights. Still, it has no power to change the basic structure of the
Constitution
THANKYOU