Individual privileges
Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Individual privileges are rights that each member enjoys personally, so they can speak and vote without fear. They come from Article 105 (Art. 194 for state legislators). They also extend to ministers and the Attorney General (Art. 105(4)). The main ones are:
- Freedom of speech in the House (Art. 105(1)). This is limited by Art. 121, which bars discussing a judge's conduct.
- Immunity from court action for anything said or any vote given in the House (Art. 105(2)).
- Freedom from civil arrest during a session and for 40 days before and after it (CPC s.135A). A civil arrest is an arrest in a private dispute, such as an unpaid debt.
There is no protection from criminal arrest or preventive detention.
Example
In the Sita Soren case (2024), seven judges held that the Art. 105(2) immunity does not cover an MP who takes a bribe to speak or vote.
Don't confuse with
- Collective privileges: these belong to the House as a whole, such as making its own rules or punishing contempt.
Related concepts
- Parliamentary 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
- Raja Ram Pal case