Twenty-five years after a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court inoculated MPs and MLAs who take kickbacks to vote or make speeches in a particular manner in the House from criminal prosecution, the Centre told a larger seven-judge Bench on Wednesday that the majority verdict in the infamous JMM bribery case was wrong and a lawmaker commits a crime the moment he accepts the pay-off, whether or not he makes good his promise in the House.
“The offence of bribery is complete the moment there is an offer of bribe outside the House and you [MP or MLA] accept the money. It does not matter if the legislator performs his part of the bargain inside the House. Criminality is attached the moment the bribe is accepted. The performance of the MP or MLA — whether he casts his vote or makes a speech to favour a particular interest — is irrelevant,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, addressed the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.
Mr. Mehta said the government’s stand was in tune with the minority view of Justice (retired) S.C. Agarwal on the Bench in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) bribery case in 1998. Justice Agarwal had clearly held that the protective cloak of immunity around an MP or MLA would not extend to bribes received outside the House. The Solicitor General said the court should now focus more on the Prevention of Corruption Act rather than the question of immunity.
