Now Reading: 7-judge SC bench to weigh MLAs’ privileges against free speech
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7-judge SC bench to weigh MLAs’ privileges against free speech
The Supreme Court will hear a key constitutional case from October 6 on whether MLAs' legislative privileges override fundamental rights such as freedom of speech. A separate seven-judge bench will hear from…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court will hear a key constitutional case from October 6 on whether MLAs' legislative privileges override fundamental rights such as freedom of speech. A separate seven-judge bench will hear from September 22 on whether state legislatures can levy additional sales tax. The privilege case stems from a 2003 dispute where Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker K Kalimuthu ordered the arrest of journalist N Ravi and five others for alleged breach of privilege. The top court stayed the arrest and referred the matter to a larger bench due to conflicting verdicts. One earlier judgment held that fundamental rights prevail over privileges, while a 1965 verdict said the opposite.
The Indian Opinion
Headlines are already pitching this as a clash between politicians' power and citizens' rights. But the real tension is subtler: can a legislature function if every privilege is subject to court challenge, and can a democracy survive if lawmakers are immune for speech that ordinary citizens would not be? The 2003 N Ravi case, a journalist arrested for breach of privilege, is a concrete test. Watch if the court carves out a minimum core of privilege that even fundamental rights cannot touch. That will tell us whose liberty is really being weighed.
Source: rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
