Which statement about the codification of parliamentary privileges in India is correct?
- A.They were codified by the Privileges Act of 1952
- B.Parliament has not enacted a law defining them, so they remain uncodified
- C.They were codified by the 44th Amendment itself
- D.The Supreme Court codified them in the Keshav Singh case
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B. Article 105(3) authorises Parliament to define its privileges by law, but Parliament has never passed such a law, so the privileges remain uncodified and are drawn from the Constitution, the rules of the Houses, their precedents and the practice followed before the Forty-fourth Amendment. Option A names a Privileges Act of 1952, which does not exist; no such statute has been enacted. Option C is wrong because the Forty-fourth Amendment only replaced the reference to the House of Commons with a date-based formula and inserted Article 361A; it did not list or define the privileges. Option D is wrong because a court cannot codify privileges, and the Keshav Singh reference of 1964 decided a different question, namely that a House is not the sole and final judge of the extent of its privileges and that its orders can be tested against the fundamental rights.
Read the full article: Parliamentary Privileges: Articles 105 and 194 Explained
Practice Questions
View allWhich Article of the Constitution deals with the powers, privileges and immunities of Parliament, its members and its committees?
- A.Article 100
- B.Article 105
- C.Article 110
- D.Article 112
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Article 105 of the Constitution deals with the powers, privileges and immunities of Parliament, its members and its committees.
Read the full explanation →A member of Parliament is free from arrest in civil cases during a session and for how many days before it begins and after it ends?
- A.15 days
- B.20 days
- C.30 days
- D.40 days
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Freedom from arrest in civil cases runs through the continuance of a session and for forty days before the session begins and forty days after it ends.
Read the full explanation →Which Article protects a person from liability for publishing a substantially true report of the proceedings of a House of Parliament?
- A.Article 105
- B.Article 194
- C.Article 361A
- D.Article 123
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Article 361A protects a person from civil or criminal liability for publishing a substantially true report of the proceedings of either House of Parliament or of a State Legislature, unless the publication is proved to have been made with malice; the protection does not extend to reports of a secret…
Read the full explanation →Which Constitutional Amendment Act removed the reference to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from the privileges clause of Article 105(3)?
- A.42nd Amendment Act, 1976
- B.44th Amendment Act, 1978
- C.52nd Amendment Act, 1985
- D.61st Amendment Act, 1988
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As originally enacted, Article 105(3) said that until Parliament defined the privileges by law they would be those of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Read the full explanation →How many members does the Committee of Privileges of the Lok Sabha have?
- A.10
- B.12
- C.15
- D.22
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The Committee of Privileges of the Lok Sabha has fifteen members, nominated by the Speaker, and it examines questions of privilege referred to it and recommends what action the House should take.
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