An introduction to the provisions of Breach of privilege

Context

• Editors of Hi Bangalore and Yelahanka Voice have been awarded one-year jail term and a fine of Rs 10,000 for libel.

The Issue

• Karnataka assembly speaker K.B. Koliwad has sentenced Ravi Belagere of Hi Bangalore and Anil Raj of Yelahanka Voice for a year in jail for writing defamatory articles against legislators.
• Hi Bangalore in the year 2014 and said to have ‘defamed’ Koliwad and another congress leader B.M. Nagaraju, and in 2016, Yelahanka Voice defamed BLP’s S.R. Vishwanath in one of their article.

Punishment rewarded in case of Breach of Privilege

• The house can ensure attendance of the offending person. The person can be given a warning and let go or be sent to prison as the case may be.
• In the case of throwing leaflets and chappal, the offending individuals were sentenced to simple imprisonment.

The Criticism

• It is a thinly disguised mechanism to insulate elected representatives from criticism.
• It is too often invoked for the ostensible reason of protecting the image of the House on the whole or its individual members.
• Legislatures do not pursue an appropriate judicial remedy in their individual capacity.
• Nature of legislative privileges is trying to take away the liberty of critics, thus restricting the freedom of speech and expression provided by the constitution of India under Article 19 (1) (a).
• Legislatures mainly to protect the independence of the House stand behind the absence of codification. Doing so, the House gains the power to decide when and how breach of privilege occurs.
• Legislators are in a position to clarify facts and refute misconceived criticism. There is no reason for them to seek imprisonment for contempt.
• Even if it is conceded that the House has such a right, a moot question is whether the legislature, through its Committee of Privileges, should be a judge in its own cause.

Conclusion

• Whether the legislature’s power to punish for breach of privilege extends to handing down a prison term is remains an open question. Has time come for the legislature to codify privileges and for the higher judiciary to lay down the limits of penal action for breach of privilege.
• The Karnataka government must consider the public odium it would attract if it acted on the resolution. If the Chief Minister and the Speaker take the lead in getting the Assembly to rescind the resolution, that would better safeguard the dignity of the august House is what critics pointing.