On Friday (3rd November), the Supreme Court directed AAP MP Raghav Chadha to meet the Rajya Sabha Chairperson in relation to his suspension from the house over the allegations of forging signatures of MPs. The court suggested the MP leader seek an unconditional apology to get his suspension from the House revoked.
The Supreme Court recorded Chadha’s lawyer’s statements that Raghav Chadha had no intention of undermining the dignity of the House in which he serves. The lawyer also said that the leader would seek an appointment with the Rajya Sabha Chairperson to offer an unconditional apology.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, also agreed that Chadha tendering an apology would be a better option to solve the matter.
The Court also stated that the apology may be considered sympathetically by the Chairperson in light of the House’s facts and circumstances. This comes days after the Supreme Court stated that ‘indefinite suspension of an MP could have very serious repercussions for people’s right to be represented by a person of their choice’. The court had stated that suspensions for the house usually last for a few days or for the ongoing session, expressing concern about the indefinite suspension of Chadha.
On Monday (31st October), the Supreme Court said that the removal of an opposition member from the House only because of a viewpoint that differs from the government’s is a serious matter.
The only charge levelled against Chadha by a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was that he did not seek the permission of some MPs before deciding to include their names in a proposed select committee. The bench asked Attorney General R Venkataramani if this could be considered an infraction warranting indefinite suspension.
Chadha was suspended from the Upper House of Parliament on 11th August 2023 after he was accused of naming fellow members as a part of a proposed select committee to scrutinize the Delhi Bill without their consent. Invoking the names of Members of Parliaments without their consent was considered a violation of parliamentary privilege by the concerned MPs.
A resolution was presented by Raghav Chadha in Rajya Sabha on August 11, moving an amendment to the ‘Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ to refer it to a select committee of 19 Rajya Sabha members. However, when he read the names, several MPs protested, saying that they were not consulted before their names were included in the proposed committee, and accused Chadha of forging their signatures. Union Home Minister Amit Shah then sternly reacted to it, insisting the deputy speaker take appropriate action against this act of perjury.
Later five MPs – Thambi Durai, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Sasmit Patra, Phangnon Komyak, and Narhari Amin – submitted formal complaints to the Rajya Sabha chairman against the AAP MP for using their names without their consent. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar then referred the complaints to the privileges committee to examine and investigate the matter.
It was considered a breach of privilege by Chadha for inter-alia including the names of the MPs without their consent, in violation of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, and Chadha was suspended from the house for an indefinite period. Following that, the AAP MP moved Supreme Court challenging the suspension.
AAP had defended the MP, arguing that proposing names of MPs for a committee is not a crime, saying that no signatures were forged, and only the names were mentioned.
On 31st October, Venkataramani, who is assisting the Supreme Court in this matter, stated that it is critical to obtain the consent of the members proposed to be included on a parliamentary panel because it adds to the dignity of the House proceedings.
The court today, however, directed Chadha to see the Rajya Sabha Chairperson and seek an unconditional apology in the case. The court said that it will hear the plea after the Diwali vacation.