Suspension of MPs what's Law says:

  Yesterday some of the Constitutional Law students in class were asking about the provisions related to suspension of members in Parliament.

Apart from Ethics committee that we already discussed in class, there are also rules of Parliamentary Procedures which govern the suspension of MPs:

 General Principle: The Presiding Officer (Speaker of Lok Sabha or Chairman of Rajya Sabha) is responsible for maintaining order in the House.

 Rule 373 - Lok Sabha: The Speaker can direct disorderly members to withdraw from the House for the day's sitting .

 Rule 255 - Rajya Sabha: The Chairman can ask disorderly members to withdraw, but unlike Lok Sabha, the House decides on suspension .

 Naming by Speaker: Under Rule 374 , the Speaker can name members for suspension if they persistently obstruct business.

 Rule 256 - Rajya Sabha: The Chairman can suspend a member for the remainder of the session .

 Rule 374A: Introduced in December 2001, it allows automatic suspension for severe violations for five consecutive sittings or the session's remainder, whichever is less .

 Terms of Suspension: Suspended members cannot enter the chamber, attend committee meetings, submit notices, or get replies to their questions.

The suspended MPs also do not receive their daily allowance for the duration of the suspension. This is in accordance with the Salary, Allowances and Pensions of Members of Parliament Act, 1954. It implies that their stay at the place of duty cannot be considered a residence on duty under the said Act.

Court Intervention: Article 122 of the Constitution says parliamentary proceedings cannot be questioned in court. 

However, the Supreme Court has intervened in cases like the suspension of 12 BJP MLAs by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for one year in 2021. 

The Supreme Court held that this suspension is unconstitutional as a constituency cannot go unrepresented for over six months.

 The maximum suspension as per these Rules is “for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less”.

 Article 190 (4) of the Constitution, says, “If for a period of sixty days a member of a House of the Legislature of a State is without permission of the House absent from all meetings thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant.”

 Under Section 151 (A) of The Representation of the People Act, 1951, “a bye-election for filling any vacancy shall be held within a period of six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy”.

This means that barring exceptions specified under this section, no constituency can remain without a representative for more than six months.