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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

26/10/23 06:50 AM IST

Lok Sabha Ethics Committee

In News
  • The Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla referred BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s complaint against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra to the House Ethics Committee.
Historical Background
  • A Presiding Officers’ Conference in Delhi in 1996 first mooted the idea of ethics panels for the two Houses of Parliament.
  • Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman K R Narayanan constituted the Upper House’s Ethics Committee on March 4, 1997 — it was officially inaugurated two months later in May — to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of members and examine cases of misconduct referred to it.
  • The Rules applicable to the Committee of Privileges also apply to the ethics panel.
  • Late Speaker G M C Balayogi constituted an ad-hoc Ethics Committee in 2000 and it became a permanent part of the House only in 2015.
Working of the committee
  • Any person can complain against a member through another Lok Sabha MP along with all evidence of misconduct and an affidavit stating that the complaint is not “false, frivolous or vexatious”.
  • A member, too, can complain against another member with evidence without any need for an accompanying affidavit.
  • The Committee does not entertain complaints based only on media reports or on sub-judice matters. The Speaker can refer to the committee any complaint against an MP.
  • The committee makes a prima facie enquiry before deciding to examine a complaint and after the evaluation of the complaint makes its recommendations.
  • The committee report is presented to the Speaker who asks the House if the report should be taken up for consideration.
  • There is also a provision for a half-an-hour discussion on the report.
Privileges committee V/S Ethics committee
  • The work of the Ethics Committee and the Privileges Committee often overlap.
  • A corruption allegation against an MP can be sent to either body as it involves an accusation of serious breach of privilege and contempt of the House.
  • The mandate of the Committee of Privileges is to safeguard the “freedom, authority and dignity of Parliament”.
  • These privileges are enjoyed by individual members as well as the House as a collective.
  • Thus, while MPs can be examined for breach of privilege on corruption charges, a person who is not an MP can also be accused of breach of privilege for actions that attack the authority and dignity of the House.
  • In the case of the Ethics Committee, however, only an MP can be examined for misconduct.
Source- Indian Express

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