New Privilege Committee Formed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
Formation of the New Privilege Committee
On Tuesday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla officially appointed members to the newly formed Privilege Committee, which will take effect from March 3, 2026. This committee, tasked with investigating issues related to breaches of parliamentary privilege and recommending necessary actions, will be chaired by BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad. Other appointed members include Brijmohan Agrawal (BJP), Tariq Anwar (Congress), Manickam Tagore B (Congress), T.R. Baalu (DMK), Kalyan Banerjee (AITC), Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne (Shiv Sena), Ramveer Singh Bidhuri (BJP), Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo (BJP), Jagdambika Pal (BJP), Trivendra Singh Rawat (BJP), Arvind Ganpat Sawant (Shiv Sena (UBT)), Jagdish Shettar (BJP), Manish Tewari (Congress), and Dharmendra Yadav (Samajwadi Party).
Role and Importance of the Privilege Committee
The Privilege Committee plays a crucial role in safeguarding the privileges of parliament members, addressing contempt complaints, and maintaining the dignity of parliamentary proceedings. Its establishment is viewed as a regular yet significant step towards strengthening legislative oversight. The committee is responsible for investigating cases referred by the Speaker and reporting on allegations of privilege violations to ensure adherence to parliamentary decorum.
Reporting Procedures and Recent Developments
When a question of privilege is referred to the committee by the House, the committee's report is presented in the House by the Speaker or a member of the committee in the Speaker's absence. Under Rule 227, if the Speaker refers a privilege question to the committee, the report is submitted to the Speaker, who can issue final orders or direct its presentation on the House floor. Recently, Om Birla reconstituted a three-member inquiry committee to investigate the reasons for the removal of Justice Yashwant Verma. According to the official notification from the Lok Sabha, the reconstituted committee will be effective from March 6, 2026.
Background of the Inquiry Committee
The formation of this committee was prompted last March following the discovery of bundles of burnt notes at Justice Verma's residence, raising significant concerns and calls for investigation. The notification states that the reconstituted committee includes Supreme Court Justice Arvind Kumar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Justice Chandrashekar, and senior advocate B.V. Acharya from the Karnataka High Court. Justice Arvind Kumar and B.V. Acharya were members of the previous committee, while Justice Chandrashekar has been added as a new member, replacing Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava of the Madras High Court.