Speaker rejects privilege notices against PM

New Delhi, Aug 11 (UNI) Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today rejected the privilege notices given by the NDA and others against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for leakage of the Justice Pathak Authority Report to the media before it was laid in the House, saying it did not constitute any breach of privilege or contempt of the House.

Giving his ruling on the privilege notices, Mr Chatterjee said, "The question which has been raised is not res integra and there are ample authorities to hold that giving premature publicity to any matter connected with the business of the House is not a breach of privilege and contempt of the House, though in some cases it may amount to an act of impropriety.

"It has been held that no privilege of Parliament is involved if statement on any matter of public interest is not first made in the House and is made outside." Mr Chatterjee said such actions were against conventions and propriety but did not constitute any basis on which breach of privilege could be founded.

The Speaker referred to the rulings given in such matters by his predecessor G.V. Mavalankar in 1955 on the issue of leakage of the Report of the Bank Award Commission before it was laid on the Table of the House.

He said there were incidents of leakage of budget proposals in 1956 and railway budget in 1982 but it was held that these did not constitute a breach of privilege.

"In view of the rulings of my very distinguished predecessors and the well-established position, I hold that no breach of privilege or contempt of the House has been occasioned by the leakage of the contents of the Report," Mr Chatterjee said.

The notices were given by Mr V K Malhotra (BJP), Braja Kishore Tripathy (BJD), Mr Prabhunath Singh (JD(U), Mr George Fernandes JD(U), Mr Santosh Gangwar (BJP), Mr Sukhdev Singh Libra (Akali Dal), Major Gen B.C. Khanduri (BJP), Mr Mohand Singh (Samajwadi Party) and Dr M Jagannath (TDP).

The Speaker, however, deprecated that the documents intended for members were circulated to the Press and to non-members first and left it to the government whether it would like to investigate as to how the leakage took place.

UNI KAS PK HS1252