11.4 Privileges of Legislature

Articles 103 and 105 — the immunity code: Freedom of speech and vote: no member arrested, detained or prosecuted for anything said or any vote cast in the House or its committees (103(1), extending to committee proceedings and joint sittings); Internal autonomy: each House exclusively regulates its own business — no court may question the regularity of proceedings (103(2)); the mirror rule runs the other way too — no parliamentary discussion of matters before courts or of judges' acts (Article 105, impeachment excepted); Freedom from arrest during the session-and-summons period — with the criminal-charge exception and the chair's notification duty (103(6)); Breach of privilege = contempt of Parliament (103(7)), adjudicated exclusively by the House itself: punishments — admonition, warning, imprisonment up to 3 months (effective during the session) or fine up to Rs 5,000 (103(8)); an apology may earn pardon; unauthorized sitting or voting is fined Rs 5,000 per day (Article 102); The unfinished code: unenumerated privileges are left to law (103(9)) — the Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act supplements. Comparative note: fewer codified privileges than the UK arsenal, more than most.