A parliamentary panel has recommended replacing automatic removal with suspension for the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers detained for 30 days in serious criminal cases. According to reports from Business Standard, the joint committee examining the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill made specific recommendations that the term 'removal' be replaced with 'suspension', stating that 'ministers facing specified criminal charges should be suspended, not permanently removed, pending the outcome of legal proceedings'. The panel also defined serious criminal offences as those punishable with imprisonment of up to five years or more. As per recent reports, the draft report acknowledges that an 'overwhelming majority of stakeholders' have found the clause of removing the PM, CMs or ministers from office if they are in custody for 30 consecutive days 'constitutionally problematic' as it is delinked from any judicial outcome of culpability.
The parliamentary panel proposed introducing an automatic reversal clause that would ensure suspension does not become permanent. As reported by Business Standard, the suspension should automatically end if the minister is acquitted or the prosecution does not proceed within a specified period. The panel emphasized that this safeguard ensures reappointment and protects against permanent removal for those found not guilty by courts. According to latest reports, one of the recommendations made in the draft report is that the bill carry a sunset or automatic reversal clause that states the barring of the person from holding office will lapse upon his discharge or if the prosecution fails to proceed with the case within a defined period. This will ensure the removal based on an unproven allegation does not turn into a de facto permanent disentitlement.
The 130th Constitution Amendment Bill, introduced last August, originally sought to automatically remove the prime minister, ministers or chief ministers on the 31st day of their detention if they don't step down voluntarily. According to Business Standard, the opposition had dubbed the Bill a tool to destabilise governments run by them. Most opposition parties had opted out of the joint committee examining the Bill, with the panel's report likely to be adopted this week. The Bill was originally introduced with an aim to ensure that governments are not run from jail.
The joint committee recommended that cases involving high-level constitutional functionaries should be tried in fast-track or special courts, in line with the Supreme Court's directions. As reported by Business Standard, if the recommendations are accepted, the Ministry of Home Affairs will approach the Union Cabinet with the proposed amendments and later bring official amendments in the Lok Sabha. The draft report is open to changes backed by a majority of panel members, and once adopted, it will be tabled in Lok Sabha, raising the possibility of the government seeking its passage in Parliament to make it into a law.
