Parliamentary Privileges and Immunities
Official heading: “Powers, privileges, etc., of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and committees thereof”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part V, Article 105, printed pages 47–48
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- Not yet checked
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1. In One Sentence
Article 105 guarantees freedom of speech in Parliament, grants absolute immunity from court proceedings for legislative speeches and votes, and defines the collective powers and privileges of both Houses and their committees.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 105 is the bedrock of parliamentary democracy in India, guaranteeing that legislators can speak, debate, and vote fearlessly without threat of executive harassment or private civil/criminal litigation.
Clause (1) guarantees freedom of speech within Parliament, subject only to the provisions of the Constitution (such as Article 121 prohibiting discussion on judge conduct) and the procedural rules of the House.
Clause (2) grants complete immunity from court proceedings: no MP can be held liable in any court for anything said or any vote cast in Parliament or any of its committees, and no person can be prosecuted for publishing official parliamentary reports or proceedings under House authority.
Following the landmark 7-Judge Constitution Bench ruling in Sita Soren v. Union of India (2024), which overruled P.V. Narasimha Rao (1998), the Supreme Court clarified that parliamentary privilege does NOT shield a legislator from criminal prosecution for accepting a bribe to speak or vote.
Clause (3), as amended by the Forty-fourth Amendment (1978), provides that other powers, privileges, and immunities shall be defined by Parliament by law, and until so defined, shall be those existing prior to the amendment.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A citizen files a defamation lawsuit against an MP for sharp factual allegations made during a live parliamentary debate on government contracts.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 105 secures the autonomy of Parliament and fearless legislative debate.
- Freedom of speech within the House is distinct from and broader than Article 19(1)(a) citizen speech.
- Absolute immunity for legislative words and votes inside Parliament.
- Bribery exception: Corruption and bribery are not protected privileges (Sita Soren, 2024).
- Collective privileges: Power to regulate internal procedure, punish for contempt, and exclude strangers.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part V, Article 105, printed pages 47–48 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.