1970 (5) TMI 68

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.... damages for defamatory statements made by Shri Sanjiva Reddy (former Speaker of the Lok Sabha), Shri Y. B. Chavan (Home Minister) and three members of Parliament on the floor of the Lok Sabha during a Calling Attention Motion the High Court held that no proceedings could be taken in a court of law in respect of what was said on the floor of Parliament in view of Art. 105(2) of the Constitution. The High Court, however, certified the case as fit for appeal to this Court under Art. 13 3 ( 1 ) (a) of the Constitution and this appeal has been brought. Notice of the lodgement of the appeal was issued to the respondents in due course but they have not appeared. The Union Government which joined, at its request, as a party in the High Court alone....

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....onstitution, which defines the powers, privileges and immunities of Parliament and its Members, provides : "105 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and to the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of Parliament, there shall be freedom of speech in Parliament. (2) No Member of Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any committee thereof, and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication by or under the authority of either House of Parliament of any report, paper, votes or proceedings. (3 )In other respects, the powers, privileges and immunities of each House of Parliament, and of the me....

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.... utterly irrelevant. In our judgment it is not possible to read the provisions of the article in the way suggested. The article means what it says in language which could not be plainer. The article confers immunity inter alia in respect of 'anything said........ in Parliament". The word 'anything' is of the widest import and is equivalent to 'everything'. The only limitation arises from the words 'in Parliament' which means during the sitting of Parliament and in the course of the business of Parliament. We are concerned only with speeches in Lok Sabha. Once it was proved that Parliament was sitting and its business was being transacted, anything said during the course of that business was immune from proceed....