A book on Parliament practices that decodes key affairs

What happens when a lawmaker is accused of contempt of the House but later expresses regret to the privileges committee of the House?

- Saubhadra Chatterji

NEW DELHI: The latest edition of MN Kaul and SN Shakdher's Practice and Procedure of Parliament—the seminal reference guide for India's legislative affairs—gives a detailed note on such cases.

The book cites four examples from the 17th Lok Sabha (under Speaker Om Birla) when lawmakers Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K Jayakumar, Abdul Khaleque and Vijay Kumar were all accused of contempt of the House and suspended. All four leaders subsequently expressed regret to the privileges committee (Chowdhury in August 2023 and the other three in December 2023), and the suspensions were immediately lifted.

Practice and Procedure of Parliament's detailed explanation on the incidents doesn't just empower the privileges panel and expand its scope but also provides guidance for House authorities to handle such incidents in the future.

From its first edition in 1968, Kaul and Shakdher's Practice and Procedure of Parliament is widely considered the best reference book for lawmakers on how to conduct the House. But its latest edition—a copy of which is available with HT—assumes greater significance as it magnifies how Indian Parliament worked during the Covid-19 pandemic, and marks the historic shift of Parliament from the old building (now Samvidhan Sadan) to the new building.

In his message published in the book, PM Narendra Modi said: "May the publication continue to nurture and nourish democratic traditions and principles culminating in the building of Vikasit Bharat@2047."