Mahua Moitra's claim of being 'hanged by a kangaroo court' may not withstand judicial scrutiny in view of 2007 Constitution Bench verdict

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, December 8

As TMC MP Mahua Moitra cries foul over her expulsion from the Lok Sabha on Friday, after being found guilty of “cash-for-query’ allegations and of conduct unbecoming of an MP, her claim of being “hanged by a kangaroo court” may not withstand judicial scrutiny in view of a 2007 Constitution Bench verdict.

In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court had on January 10, 2007, upheld Parliament’s decision to expel 11 MPs – 10 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha—for their involvement in the December 2005 “cash-for-query” scam.

Describing the expulsions as a “self-protection” exercise by Parliament, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by then CJI YK Sabharwal by 4:1 majority ruled that “Even if some of the material on which the action is taken is found to be irrelevant, the court would still not interfere so long as there is some relevant material sustaining the action”.

While holding that Parliament has the power to expel erring MPs, it ruled that Parliament’s actions were subject to judicial review. “Proceedings (of Parliament) which may be tainted on account of substantive or gross illegality or unconstitutionality are not protected from judicial scrutiny,” it had said.

The “truth or correctness of the material (relied upon by Parliament) will not be questioned by the court nor will it go into the adequacy of the material or substitute its opinion for that of the Legislature,” the Constitution Bench said.

In the 2005 cash-for-query scam, a sting operation by a private TV channel had shown 10 Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP accepting bribes for asking questions in Parliament. Those expelled from the Lok Sabha were Annasaheb MK Patil, YG Mahajan, Pradeep Gandhi, Suresh Chandel and CP Singh, NK Kushwaha, Raja Ram Pal and LC Kol, Ramsevak Singh and Manoj Kumar. One lone Rajya Sabha MP expelled was CS Lodha. They belonged to BJP, Congress, BSP and RJD.

On April 12, 2007, a five-judge Bench led by then CJI Chief KG Balakrishnan dismissed the MPs’ petitions seeking review of the verdict upholding their expulsion, by saying there was no merit in the petitions.