The Supreme Court Today (March 4th) overturned a 1998 judgment and ruled that MPs and MLAs are liable to be prosecuted for taking bribes to make speeches and cast votes. Here are the top court’s five quotes. “Lawmakers liable to be prosecuted if they receive bribes for votes, speeches”: CJI.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court declared Today that legislators in both Parliament and state assemblies can be prosecuted for accepting bribes in exchange for delivering speeches or casting votes during legislative sessions.
ALSO READ: PM Modi Applauds SC’s Landmark Decision Ending Immunity for MPs and MLAs in Bribery Cases
Furthermore, the court overturned a previous ruling from 1998 that granted immunity to lawmakers in cases where they accepted bribes for speeches or votes in the legislative bodies. This unanimous decision was handed down by a seven-member Constitution bench, with Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud leading the panel.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud made some remarkable points:
“Corruption and bribery by members of the legislature erode probity in public life.”
“The judgment of the majority in the PV Narasimha Rao case, which grants immunity to lawmakers, has a grave danger and thus, overruled.”
“The offence of a bribe is crystallised on the taking of illegal gratification and does not depend on if the vote or speech is given later, and the offence is complete when the legislator accepts a bribe.”
“Bribery is not protected by parliamentary privilege and the word anything when read with their respective operative words means that a member may claim immunity to say as they feel and vote in a direction in any matter before the house.”
“A member is induced to vote in a certain way because of a bribe and it erodes the foundation of Indian democracy.”
READ: BREAKING | Supreme Court Rules Against Immunity of MPs and MLAs in Bribery Cases
And, Following is the chronology of events that led to Supreme Court’s landmark verdict holding that MPs and MLAs taking bribes to vote or make a speech in the House are not immune from criminal prosecution:
April 17, 1998: A five-judge Constitution bench, by 3:2 majority, held in the the Narasimha Rao vs CBI case, also known as JMM bribery case, that lawmakers have immunity against criminal prosecution for any speech made and the vote cast inside the House under Articles 105(2) and 194(2) of the Constitution
February 17, 2014: Jharkhand HC refuses to quash criminal case against JMM leader Sita Soren for allegedly taking bribe in Rajya Sabha polls in 2012
September 23, 2014: A two-judge SC bench places before a larger bench the plea of JMM leader Sita Soren
March 7, 2019: A three-judge bench refers the issue related to immunity of lawmakers to a larger bench
September 20, 2023: A five-judge bench refers the issue and reconsideration of the 1998 verdict to a bench of seven judges
October 5, 2023: The seven-judge bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud reserves judgment
March 4, 2024: Observing that bribery is not protected by parliamentary privileges, the seven-judge bench overturns five-judge bench’s interpretation in the 1998 verdict in the JMM bribery case.
It holds that MPs and MLAs taking bribes to vote or make a speech in the House are not immune from criminal prosecution.
The bench had reserved its judgment on October 5, 2023.
CASE TITLE:
Sita Soren v. Union of India.
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