The Supreme Court on Friday asked suspended AAP lawmaker Raghav Chadha to meet with Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar and offer an unconditional apology regarding the select committee dispute. The court expressed its hope that Dhankhar would consider the matter sympathetically.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud along with justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra considered the submissions of lawyer Shadan Farasat, representing the Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, that the first-time and youngest lawmaker from “the house of elders” was willing to apologise to the vice president.
“Lawyer Shadan Farasat says that he (Chadha) is the youngest member in Rajya Sabha. Bearing in mind that he has no intention to affect dignity of the house of which he is a member, Mr Farasat submits that petitioner will seek an appointment with the chairperson (of the Rajya Sabha) so that he may place an unconditional apology which may be considered sympathetically,” the order stated.
The bench noted that the matter would be adjourned until after the Diwali recess and directed Attorney General R Venkataramani to keep them informed about the developments in the case.
During the brief hearing, the bench emphasized that on the last hearing, it had said if Chadha was willing to tender an apology, then the chairperson, who is a very distinguished person and a senior constitutional functionary, may take an “objective view”.
Both the Attorney General and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed with this suggestion. The bench then sought the counsel’s views on Chadha’s behalf.
Farasat then confirmed Chadha’s willingness to tender an apology and noted that this apology would not prejudice the legal arguments raised in the pending plea.
Raghav Chadha has been suspended since August 11 after being accused by several MPs, mostly from the ruling BJP, of including their names in a motion without their consent. The motion sought the formation of a select committee to examine the contentious Delhi Services Bill. The allegations included that Chadha had moved a motion to refer the Delhi Services Bill to the select committee and had designated certain lawmakers as members of the proposed committee, even though some MPs had not consented to this inclusion.
The Apex Court had previously expressed concerns about the indefinite suspension of an MP and the potential implications for people’s right to be represented by a person of their choice. The court questioned whether the Privileges Committee of Parliament could order Chadha’s indefinite suspension from the Rajya Sabha and whether his actions could be deemed an infraction warranting such a suspension.
Chadha’s counsel had argued that there had been at least 11 previous incidents in the Rajya Sabha where members objected to their inclusion in select committees proposed by other members. In such cases, the objecting members were simply removed from the list, and no punitive action was ever taken against the MP who had proposed their inclusion.
The Top Court had identified several key issues for adjudication, including whether there is jurisdiction to suspend an MP pending an inquiry and whether Rule 256 and Rule 266 empower the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to suspend a member pending an inquiry.
In his plea, Chadha argued that the power to suspend indefinitely is susceptible to excesses and abuse. He contended that suspension should be used as a shield, not a sword, and should not be penal in nature.
The Rajya Sabha had passed a motion on August 11, moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, seeking action against Chadha for “gross violation of rules, misconduct, defiant attitude, and contemptuous conduct.” Chadha’s suspension occurred on the last day of the Monsoon session, pending a report by the Privileges Committee.
