'Corruption, Bribery Destroy...': Big Order On Legal Shield For MPs, MLAs
Lawmakers in parliament and state legislatures are not immune from prosecution in bribery cases, the Supreme Court said today in a landmark verdict by a seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. Lawmakers not immune from bribery. The verdict set aside a 1998 judgment in which a five-member Constitution bench had upheld the immunity for lawmakers in cases where MPs or MLAs take bribes for a speech or a vote in the House. Bribery, the court said, is not protected by parliamentary privileges and the interpretation of the 1998 verdict is contrary to Articles 105 and 194 of the Constitution. These two Articles provide elected representatives legal immunity from prosecution to enable them to work without fear. "We disagree with the judgment in PV Narasimha (case). The judgment in that case which granted immunity to legislators for taking bribes to cast votes has wide ramifications," the Chief Justice of India said. The PV Narasimha Rao case had come up in conn...