Codification of privileges
Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Codification means writing something down in a law. Article 105(3) lets Parliament define its privileges (special rights) by law. Parliament has never done this, so most privileges are still uncodified. Until 1978 they were tied to those of the UK House of Commons. The 44th Amendment (1978) removed that reference but did not write the privileges down. The debate is about whether a law should now spell them out.
Example
In the Searchlight case (M.S.M. Sharma, 1959), the court held that privileges prevail over press freedom (Art. 19(1)(a)). Cases like this lead the press to want written privileges.
- For codification: everyone would know the rules, the press would be freer, and people would be protected from arbitrary punishment.
- Against codification: the Houses would lose flexibility. A privilege law could also be tested in court under Art. 13 against fundamental rights.
Don't confuse with
- Rules of procedure (Art. 118): each House already makes its own written rules for running business. Codification is about the privileges themselves, which are still unwritten.
Related concepts
- Parliamentary privileges
- Individual privileges
- Collective privileges
- Bar on courts inquiring into parliamentary proceedings
- Breach of privilege
- Contempt of the House
- Privilege motion
- Committee of Privileges
- Ethics Committee
- Keshav Singh case