The Rajya Sabha’s Privileges Committee found 12 opposition MPs, including Sanjay Singh of the AAP, guilty of misconduct on Thursday for interfering with House business in August of last year and issued a warning to them not to do so again.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh was found guilty by the privileges panel of disobeying the chairman’s orders in a report that was presented to the Upper House of Parliament on Thursday.
It has acknowledged Singh’s sincere apologies for the incident and suggested that his suspension be lifted after determining that the penalty he received was appropriate.
On July 24, 2023, a motion was made to suspend the AAP MP from the Rajya Sabha for a breach of privilege due to his willful contempt for the chair’s instructions, multiple infractions of house rules, and disparaging remarks about the House Leader.
According to the committee’s findings, the following 12 members are found guilty of grave privilege violations and acts of contempt towards the Council of States: Sanjay Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil, Sushil Kumar Gupta, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Naranbhai J. Rathwa, L Hanumanthaiah, Syed Nasir Hussain, Kumar Ketkar, Phulo Devi Netam, Jebi Mather Hisham, Ranjeet Ranjan, and Imran Pratapgarhi.
As a result, the committee suggests that since Kumar Ketkar, Naranbhai J. Rathwa, and L. Hanumanthaiah have resigned from their positions on the council, no action be taken against them.
In its report, the panel recommended that Sanjay Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil, Sushil Kumar Gupta, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Syed Nasir Hussain, Phulo Devi Netam, Jebi Mather Hisham, Ranjeet Ranjan, and Imran Pratapgarhi refrain from engaging in such misconduct going forward, strictly adhere to exemplary conduct, and maximise their performance in the House.
As per the committee’s report, the Council’s August 11th adoption of a motion indicated that Sanjay Singh’s suspension should be considered a sufficient punishment. The suspension can be revoked immediately, with the expectation that he will adhere scrupulously to the House’s accepted conduct regime going forward.
“The Committee respectfully requests that the Rajya Sabha Chairman consider lifting Sanjay Singh’s suspension immediately, without waiting for the Council to reconvene for the next session.” In a separate report, the panel declared that the egregious misbehaviour of MPs had “sacrificed not only the temple of democracy but also the people’s faith desecrated and constitutional ordainment disregarded.”
“If a member of parliament were to engage in dishonourable behaviour by breaking the law and disregarding regulations, it would be the equivalent of the end of democracy.” Despite the fact that the concerned members have submitted an apology, the committee believes it does not satisfy the requirements outlined in the 75th Report of the committee to be considered an unconditional apology.
The panel stated, “In any case, even an unconditional apology can only be a factor for sentencing and not for exoneration.”
The committee noted that Sanjay Singh, an AAP member, engaged in “highly indecorous and unbecoming conduct by trampling privileges of his fellow colleagues by disrupting the proceedings of the Council through his disorderly behaviour” in a separate report on the member.
After a great deal of difficulty, Sanjay Singh finally offered his sincere regret after exhausting all avenues to conceal and defend his wrongdoing. Given the aggravating conditions mentioned, Sanjay Singh’s last, unqualified repentance cannot serve as the basis for an early respite, the panel stated.
The committee stated that although Singh’s actions warrant an exemplary punishment, it is suggested that, in light of all the relevant facts and circumstances, Singh’s unconditional apologies be accepted and his current suspension be deemed acceptable.
The panel stated that Sanjay Singh’s suspension may be lifted immediately by the Council.
The chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar, said in front of the House on Thursday that Sanjay Singh would be suspended from his position as a member of the House effective July 24, 2023, until the Committee of Privileges completed its report and concluded that Singh had engaged in misconduct.
The 77th and 78th Reports on the outstanding cases against Singh, he claimed, were given by the Rajya Sabha Committee on Privileges on June 26, 2024.
“The committee recommended that the member has already received sufficient punishment for the transgression, even though it found Sanjay Singh guilty of violating the Council’s privilege in all of the cases,” Dhankhar stated.
“I have invoked my authority under Rules 202 and 266 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha to revoke Sanjay Singh’s, Member’s suspension, effective June 26, 2024, to enable him to attend Parliament.” The chairman stated, “I am confident that the House approves this.”
In a different report, the privileges panel rested the case against “Telangana Today” for breach of privilege after the publication’s editor acknowledged the mistake of initially reporting incorrectly, argued that it was an inadvertent oversight, and extended an unqualified apology for the “misreporting” of the Rajya Sabha business advisory committee meeting.