Collective privileges
Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Collective privileges are rights that belong to each House of Parliament as a body, not to any one member. They come from Article 105 (Art. 194 for state legislatures) and related provisions. They let the House work freely and protect its dignity. The main ones are:
- publishing its proceedings (Art. 361A; Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act 1977);
- keeping out strangers (outsiders) and holding secret sittings;
- making its own rules (Art. 118);
- punishing breach of privilege and contempt;
- being told at once when a member is arrested;
- the bar on courts inquiring into its proceedings for procedural irregularity (Art. 122).
Example
In December 2023 the Lok Sabha expelled Mahua Moitra on the report of its Ethics Committee. This was the House using its power, as a body, to discipline its own members.
Don't confuse with
- Individual privileges: these belong to each member personally, such as freedom of speech in the House and freedom from civil arrest during a session.
Related concepts
- Parliamentary privileges
- Individual 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
- Raja Ram Pal case