A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud is scheduled on March 4 to pronounce judgment on the question whether MPs or MLAs are immune from prosecution for corruption for receiving bribes to cast their votes or make speeches in the House in a particular manner.
The reference to the seven-judges Bench stemmed from a 1998 majority judgment of the Supreme Court in the JMM Bribery case in which errant legislators were spared criminal prosecution for receiving bribes outside the Parliament to vote for a particular candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections of 2012.
Reserving judgment in October last year, the seven-judge Bench orally observed that legislators cannot escape from the law by claiming immunity of office or privilege under Articles 105(2) or 194(2) of the Constitution merely because the incident of bribery was completed outside the House.
