Top court disposes TN privilege case, keeps questions open

A seven-judge Supreme Court bench on Tuesday disposed of as infructuous a long-pending matter related to the interpretation of provisions on the scope of legislative privileges of lawmakers and its effect on the freedom of speech and expression. The Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant kept the substantial questions of law open for adjudication in an appropriate future case.

Besides the CJI, the bench comprised Justices Aravind Kumar, Prashant Kumar Mishra, Joymala Bagchi, Vipul M Pancholi, Shree Chandrashekar and V Mohana.

“The writ petitions are disposed of as having become infructuous. However, the questions of law are kept open to be pursued in future in appropriate proceedings,” the bench said in its order.

The proceedings concerned a reference arising out of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly’s action against journalists, including N Ravi, in 2003 over articles and editorials published in The Hindu and Murasoli relating to proceedings in the assembly.

At the outset, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, appearing for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, brought to the bench’s attention an affidavit dated August 24, 2004, recording a subsequent unanimous resolution of the assembly of July 30, 2004.

The July 30, 2004 resolution had withdrawn the earlier resolution of November 7, 2003, passed against the petitioners.

The CJI said that this subsequent development had apparently not been specifically brought to the notice of the bench when the matter was referred to a seven-judge bench. “Even before the discussions could appear before the House, the legislative assembly passed a resolution on November 7, 2003,” the bench noted while recording the details of the case.