Thread by @barandbench

Supreme Court is scheduled to take up for hearing shortly, petition filed by @Facebook India chief Ajit Mohan challenging the summons issued to him by Delhi Assembly's Committee in relation to #DelhiRiots2020.

@secondatticus #SupremeCourt

Ajit Mohan through Senior Advocate Harish Salve had claimed that the summon was based on reports in the Wall Street journal and with a belief that "Facebook favours the ruling government".

barandbench.com/news/litigatio…

Senior Advocate Harish Salve begins submissions: Most of the law of privileges is taken care by the Amarinder Singh judgment.

Senior Adv Salve: There was a committee constituted by Lok Sabha to look into codification of privileges. It was stated then that it was to be used sparingly. However the dissenting note said it was supposed to be a transient measure

Senior Advocate Salve: if somebody prevents the house from working or discharging its function then yes privilege may be invoked but it is not to bully people.

Senior Adv Salve: Parliamentary privilege is a sum total of privileges of members who are a part of the assembly.

@secondatticus
@raghav_chadha
#SupremeCourt

Salve: For a statutorily created house, the NCT judgment holds that Delhi is a UT and not state. Thus privileges available to a state assembly is not available to it.

Senior Adv Salve: Freedom of speech is a right and not a power. Similarly right to carry proceeding without obstruction is a privilege. Privileges began as balancing of rights between the crown and Parliament..

Senior Salve: if a house wants to enjoy privileges then it needs to be on the basis of a law which must be tested on the basis of Articles 14, 19 and 21.

Senior Adv Salves moves on from the Law of Privileges in United Kingdom to the one prevalent in Australia. The senior lawyer focuses in Right of immunity.
#SupremeCourt

Senior Adv Salve: To have some members of the house form a committee to check why a communal riot took place may be desirable but such a committee is definitely not constitutional.
#SupremeCourt
#DelhiRiots

Salve: If a MP is leading a protest and manhandled by the police is atrocious but is it a breach of privilege, absolutely not. At times breach of privilege was also invoked when an MP did not get a train ticket

Senior lawyer Salve: The Delhi committee is not a select committee to look into violation of law..the law and order is not their concern. It's a nice idea to have a peace and harmony committee which can reach out to purple. But it can't look into law and order issues

Salve: The peace and harmony committee is a good social work and a fact finding committee. But do they have a legislative function I ask myself. If someone refuses to take their award will it be a breach of privilege?

Senior Adv Harish Salve: We all want to wear our powers and privileges on our shoulders and sleeves. That is the problem.

Salve: can we have such amorphous set of laws which will be an exception from the rule of law?

Senior Adv Salve: You are balancing different constitutional functions. Privileges can only extend if the functioning of the house disturbed. Today functions of MPs and elected representatives from public far exceeds their mandate.

Salve: Privilege is not a gift

Justice Hrishikesh Roy: You speak of a lakshman rekha which says privilege extends to only extent and not thus far. You also said that it is not a house committee and not a legislative committee too.

Senior Adv Salve: Its either an error on part of speaker for form such a committee or the want to wear power on one's own sleeves. This mindset needs to be addressed and this is what scares people about unknown and unresolved powers.

Senior Advocate Salve: If you want these kinds of powers conferred then it must be codified or a law needs to be laid down. Then it can be said whether the procedure established in just, fair or reasonable.

Matter adjourned

#SupremeCourt