A Constitution Bench on March 4 said the Parliament and State legislatures would lose their representative character in a democratic polity if MPs and MLAs are not able to attend the House and speak their minds in exercise of their duties as members without fear of being harassed by the executive or any agencies.
“The freedom of elected legislators to discuss and debate matters of the moment on the floor of the House is a key component of a deliberative democracy in a parliamentary form of government. The ability of legislators to conduct their functions in an environment which protects their freedom to do so without being overawed by coercion or fear is constitutionally secured. As citizens, legislators have a fundamental right to the freedom of speech and expression,” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, speaking for a seven-judge Bench, observed.
The judgment overruled a majority judgment of 1998 in the JMM bribery case which had held that legislators were immune from prosecution if they took bribes.
