Key Points
The Supreme CourtjudgmentinPV Narasimha Rao vs State (1998)ensured that MPs. andstatelegislatorswere immune from prosecution in bribery casesaboutany speech or vote in theHouse granted byArticles 105(2) and 194(2) respectively...
The opportunity to relook into the judgment arose because Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leaderSita Sorenhadapproached the Supreme Court in 2019 after theJharkhand High Courtrefused to grant her immunity in the 2012 case where she was accused of taking a bribe to votein the Rajya Sabha election..
One of the possible outcomes of a modified PV Narasimha Rao judgmentwould bea cleaner Rajya Sabha election process, which is anecdotallyfraught with cash-for-votes and other kinds ofcorruption..
A modifiedjudgment alsomay move away from the earlier interpretation of the nexus testbribery would beseen asindependent of the performance of the promised favour and the actcompletedupon receiving a bribe.Such a modification would bringthe judgment more in line with the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as standard ethical practices elsewherein the world...
After this process, the Supreme Court will decide if the vote polled during the Rajya Sabha election is considered part of House proceedings and hence protected by Article 194(2)..
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