Saurabh Ajit Dhote, LLM, DES Shri Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune, Maharashtra
ABSTRACT
Democracy is for all and not for few. Democracy is a crucial element of most of the civilizations in the world. Law framers owe a duty to protect and flourish the democracy of the nation. India is one of the world’s largest democracies. Democracy is the cornerstone of Indian constitution. Indian constitution is the bulkiest constitution in the world. Indian constitution has granted certain parliamentary privileges to the parliamentarians of our country. The main purpose behind granting these privileges was that these people will carry out their functions without any fear or favour. Norms of democratic functioning of parliament have undergone changes in recent years yet the parliamentary privileges are unchanged. The only modifications are that the parliamentarians are being made accountable for their actions in parliament and the duty they owe towards public. This has been the result of misuse of these privileges by certain parliamentarians. Article 105 under Indian constitution is about parliamentary privileges and immunities. Democracy means when the country is governed by the elected representatives of people. The constitution which is voluntarily adopted by the people of country and accepts to be governed by the constitution of that country is known as democratic constitution. Parliamentary privileges are provided to the parliamentarians. These are expressly provided under Indian constitution. These are granted for the fair functioning of the parliament. The goal behind these privileges is the protection of public interest and development of society at large. It is said “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Privileges have been granted to the parliamentarians keeping certain ends in mind. These have the purpose of creating a healthy society. But this has a downside as well. The parliamentary privileges have resulted in granting unnecessary powers to the politicians. This has resulted in misuse of powers. The parliamentary privileges are being used for their own benefits which hazardous to a healthy democracy. Parliamentary privileges are creating obstacle in smooth functioning of democracy. There must be certain qualifications for becoming a parliamentarian. Awareness is required for the voters for choosing the right candidate. Reformations are required in relevant laws related to parliamentary privileges for making parliamentarians accountable towards citizens. To study parliamentary privileges under democratic constitution, to identify loopholes in current system, to study the legislative framework, to understand the judicial attitude, to suggest measures for solving issues relating to parliamentary privileges.
Keywords: Constitution, Democracy, Immunities, Judicial, Legislative, Privileges, Parliamentarian, Politicians
