Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their committees and their members. They are necessary in order to secure the independence and effectiveness of their actions.
Without these privileges, the Houses can neither maintain their authority, dignity and honour nor can protect their members from any obstruction in the discharge of their parliamentary responsibilities.
Parliamentary privileges can be classified into two broad categories:
i) those that are enjoyed by each House of Parliament collectively, and
ii) those that are enjoyed by the members individually.
Collective Privileges
1. It has the right to publish its reports, debates and proceedings and also the right to prohibit others from publishing the same. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 restored the freedom of the press to publish true reports of parliamentary proceedings without prior permission of the House. But this is not applicable in the case of a secret sitting of the House.
2. It can exclude strangers from its proceedings and hold secret sittings to discuss some important matters.
3. It can make rules to regulate its own procedure and the conduct of its business and to adjudicate upon such matters.
4. It can punish members as well as outsiders for breach of its privileges or its contempt by reprimand, admonition or imprisonment (also suspension or expulsion, in case of members).
5. It has the right to receive immediate information of the arrest, detention, conviction, imprisonment and release of a member.
6. It can institute inquiries and order the attendance of witnesses and send for relevant papers and records.
7. The courts are prohibited to inquire into the proceedings of a House or its committees.
8. No person (either a member or outsider) can be arrested, and no legal process (civil or criminal) can be served within the precincts of the House without the permission of the
presiding officer.
Individual Privileges
- They cannot be arrested during the session of Parliament and 40 days before the beginning and 40 days after the end of a session. This privilege is available only in civil cases and not in criminal cases or preventive detention cases.
- They have freedom of speech in Parliament. No member is liable to any proceedings in any court for anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or its committees. This freedom is subject to the provisions of the Constitution and to the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of Parliament.
- They are exempted from jury service. They can refuse to give evidence and appear as a witness in a case pending in a court when Parliament is in session.
