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Ravi Shankar to head Lok Sabha privileges panel

March 04, 2026 5 min read Polity & Governance GS Paper 2
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What Happened

  • Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted the Committee of Privileges and nominated Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP MP, Patna Sahib) as its Chairperson on March 3, 2026.
  • The 15-member committee was formed to examine complaints of breach of parliamentary privilege and recommend action to the House.
  • The committee is multi-party: BJP holds seven seats (including the Chair), Congress has three, and DMK, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, and Shiv Sena (UBT) have one each.
  • The Privileges Committee held its first sitting shortly after formation, with Prasad presiding.
  • The committee has broad investigative powers: it can summon individuals, seek documents, conduct inquiries, and submit reports with recommendations to the full House.

Static Topic Bridges

Parliamentary Privileges — Constitutional Basis and Scope

Parliamentary privileges are special rights and immunities enjoyed by Parliament as a body, its committees, and individual members, to enable them to discharge their legislative functions freely and effectively without interference. In India, these privileges are primarily governed by Articles 105 (Parliament) and 194 (State Legislatures) of the Constitution.

  • Article 105(1): Freedom of speech in Parliament — no MP can be held liable in any court for anything said or voted in Parliament or its committees.
  • Article 105(2): No member can be arrested in civil proceedings 40 days before, during, or 40 days after a parliamentary session (under Section 135A, CPC).
  • Article 105(3): Parliament may by law define further privileges — but no such comprehensive law has been enacted; the pre-Constitution privileges (as of 1950) still apply.
  • Key privileges: freedom from arrest (civil cases), freedom of speech, right to regulate internal proceedings, right to publish debates, right to exclude strangers.

Connection to this news: The Committee of Privileges is the institutional mechanism through which Parliament investigates alleged violations of these rights. Its reconstitution at the start of each Lok Sabha (or when needed) is a routine but constitutionally significant step.

Committee of Privileges — Functions, Powers, and Procedure

The Committee of Privileges is a Parliamentary Standing Committee in the Lok Sabha consisting of 15 members nominated by the Speaker. Its Rajya Sabha counterpart has 10 members. The committee examines questions of privilege referred to it by the Speaker (for Lok Sabha) or the Chairman (for Rajya Sabha), after a member raises a privilege motion.

  • A privilege motion must be raised at the earliest opportunity; the Speaker/Chairman decides whether the matter involves a prima facie breach before referring it to the committee.
  • The committee has quasi-judicial powers: it can take evidence, examine witnesses, call for records, and hold sittings in camera.
  • It submits a report to the House with findings and, if a breach is established, recommended punishment — which can range from reprimand and admonition to suspension or even expulsion.
  • Parliament (not courts) is the sole judge of its own privileges — no court can review a Parliament committee's finding on breach of privilege.

Connection to this news: The formation of this committee under Prasad — a senior BJP leader and former Law Minister — gives the Lok Sabha a functional mechanism to address privilege complaints that would otherwise accumulate. Its composition reflecting multi-party membership is important for perceived fairness in proceedings.

Breach of Privilege — Common Instances and Recent Cases

A breach of parliamentary privilege occurs when any act obstructs or impedes Parliament or its members in the discharge of their functions, or when the dignity and authority of the House are attacked. Contempt of the House is a broader category that includes acts which, though not technically breaching specific privileges, are injurious to the character of Parliament.

  • Common instances: Publishing false or distorted reports of parliamentary proceedings; misrepresentation of a member's conduct; premature disclosure of committee proceedings; intimidation of members or witnesses; disrespectful behaviour inside the House.
  • Recent pattern: Privilege notices have been raised against journalists, ministers, and even government officials for alleged misrepresentation of parliamentary statements.
  • The line between "breach of privilege" and "contempt" is often blurred in practice — the committee examines both.
  • There have been ongoing calls to codify parliamentary privileges in statute law (as exists in the UK), to end the uncertainty arising from pre-Constitution common law privileges.

Connection to this news: With the Committee of Privileges now constituted, any pending or new privilege complaints can be formally processed — a necessary step in a Parliament session where such notices are frequently filed.

Role of Parliamentary Committees in India's Legislative System

Parliamentary committees are the workhorses of India's legislature — they scrutinise bills, examine government expenditure, oversee executive action, and investigate breaches of rules and privileges. India's parliamentary committee system includes Standing Committees (permanent, reconstituted each year), Select/Joint Committees (for specific bills), and Financial Committees (PAC, Estimates Committee, Public Undertakings Committee).

  • There are 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) covering all ministries and departments.
  • The Committee of Privileges, Business Advisory Committee, and Rules Committee are among the key House committees not departmentally aligned.
  • A significant concern in recent sessions has been the declining referral of bills to committees — the 2019-24 Lok Sabha referred only a small fraction of bills to committees, weakening pre-legislative scrutiny.
  • Parliamentary committees allow for more detailed, bipartisan deliberation than is possible in full House debate.

Connection to this news: The reconstitution of the Committee of Privileges is a reminder that Parliament's self-regulatory mechanisms — including oversight of its own dignity and the rights of its members — are as important as its legislative and oversight roles.

Key Facts & Data

  • Committee of Privileges (Lok Sabha): 15 members nominated by the Speaker.
  • Chairperson: Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP, Patna Sahib) — former Law & IT Minister, senior advocate.
  • Constitutional basis: Articles 105 and 194 of the Indian Constitution.
  • No comprehensive statutory codification of parliamentary privileges exists in India (unlike the UK).
  • Committee powers: Summon witnesses, call documents, hold hearings, submit reports with punitive recommendations.
  • Punishments for breach: Reprimand, admonition, suspension, or expulsion from the House.
  • Courts cannot review privilege committee findings — Parliament is the sole arbiter of its own privileges.
  • Party composition: BJP (7), Congress (3), DMK (1), SP (1), TMC (1), Shiv Sena (1), Shiv Sena (UBT) (1).