Suspension of members
Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Suspension keeps a disorderly member out of the House for a set time. In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker can "name" a member who disrupts the House under Rules 373-374. The House can then suspend that member for up to the rest of the session. Rule 374A, added in 2001, allows automatic suspension for five sittings or the rest of the session, whichever is shorter. Rajya Sabha Rules 255-256 work in a similar way. Suspension maintains order, but it is often criticised for silencing the opposition.
Example
In December 2023, 146 MPs were suspended. In Ashish Shelar (2022), the Supreme Court struck down the one-year suspension of 12 Maharashtra MLAs because it went beyond the session.
Don't confuse with
- Expulsion: removes a member from the House altogether. For example, the Lok Sabha expelled Mahua Moitra in 2023 on the Ethics Committee's report.
Related concepts
- Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- Removal of the Speaker
- Casting vote
- Pro tem Speaker
- Deputy Speaker
- Panel of chairpersons
- Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
- Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
- Panel of vice-chairpersons
- Voice vote