Unleashing the Non-Justiciable Conundrum: The Garb of Parliamentary Privileges

A member of Parliament, Mahua Moitra, in Parliament’s budget session 2022 started off her scathing remarks on the current government and judiciary, courtesy of the frenzy “garb of parliamentary privileges” she asserted at the hand of parliamentary democracy. While setting a backdrop to Fundamental Rights, this article delves into the origin, meaning and extent of parliamentary privileges in India. Building on this, the objectives of the article are set forth. The author analyses the unresolved conflicts in such privileges through the lens of Constitutional law. By virtue of a comparative approach with the United Kingdom, these privileges are explored in light of freedom of speech and its scope. The article then incorporates a jurisprudential analysis of immunity from legal proceedings by examining case laws. Lastly, the article discusses whether codifying the privileges is essential since the doctrine of parliamentary privileges is inherently antithetical to the rule of law.