"Indefinite Suspension A Concern": Supreme Court In Raghav Chadha Case

The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over the indefinite suspension of a Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha and its impact on the right of the people to be represented while calling the exclusion of a member of the political opposition from the house a "serious matter".

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also questioned whether the Privileges Committee could issue such an order to indefinitely suspend an MP.

The bench remarked, "Such kind of indefinite suspension will have ramifications on the people whose constituency is going unrepresented? Where is the power of the privilege committee to indefinitely suspend the member?"

The bench said the exclusion of a member of the political opposition from the House was a serious matter.

The apex court said, "Member should have verified the consent of the other members to be part of select committee but is this a breach of privilege? Exclusion of members of the opposition from the House is a serious matter. He is representative of a voice that is different than the ruling party and this is an important concern for the constitutional court. Indefinite suspension is a cause of concern and 75 days have gone."

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Chadha, said the MP respects Rajya Sabha and that he had apologised earlier too and was now doing it again.

The bench made it clear that it would look into the issue of indefinite suspension.

"Please have the joint compilation sent to us by Thursday 5 at pm. We will hear on Friday then. We will also hear on the extent of interference and that this is not a final punishment but a pro tem one," it said.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha moved the top court challenging his indefinite suspension from Rajya Sabha.

Chadha was suspended from the Upper House on August 11 for "breach of privilege" during the Monsoon Session after complaints.

The MP was accused of not obtaining the consent of five Rajya Sabha MPs before including their name in a select committee.

He was suspended till the Privilege Committee submitted its findings on the allegation against him for forging the signatures of five MPs in a motion related to the Delhi Services Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Chadha has called the suspension patently illegal and without the authority of law.

His suspension followed a motion moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal who sought action against the AAP leader for including names of some members of the Upper House without their consent in a proposed select committee for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)