Suspension from Rajya Sabha: Raghav Chadha to apologise; Supreme Court asks chairman to consider case sympathetically

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Friday told the Supreme Court that he would tender an unconditional apology to Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar for not taking the consent of five Rajya Sabha members before proposing their names for a Select Committee. [Raghav Chadha v. Rajya Sabha Secretariat and Ors]..Chadha who was suspended from the house for the same, told the apex court that as the youngest member of the House he had no problem in tendering the apology.Accordingly, bearing in mind that Chadha had no intention to attack the dignity of the house, the Supreme Court suggested the apology being considered sympathetically in the background of facts and circumstances of the case."It has been submitted that Raghav Chadha is the youngest member of the august house. Bearing in mind that he had no intention to attack the dignity of the house, it is assured that Raghav Chadha shall meet the chairperson and tender an unconditional apology which shall be considered sympathetically in the background of facts and circumstances of the house," a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said in the order.The matter will be heard after the Diwali break so that the Court can be apprised of the matter by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta and Attorney General R Venkataramani..The top court was hearing Chadha's plea challenging his indefinite suspension from the Rajya Sabha. Chadha was suspended from the Upper House of Parliament on August 11 during the pendency of the Privileges Committee proceedings against him for allegedly not taking the consent of five Rajya Sabha members before proposing their names for a Select Committee.Chadha has argued that his suspension was in clear violation of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) as well as Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.He contended that there exists a categorical prohibition against the suspension of any member for a period exceeding the remainder of a session. He has been suspended since the last hour of the Monsoon Session of Parliament this year.Chadha said that due to the suspension, he is not able to attend the meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance and the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, which continues work even when Parliament is not in session. The Supreme Court had, during the last hearing in October, taken a critical view of the continuing suspension of Chadha.It had called the exclusion of a member of the political opposition from the house a "serious matter", and questioned whether the Privileges Committee could issue such an order to indefinitely suspend an MP.CJI Chandrachud had remarked that such an indefinite suspension will have ramifications on the people whose constituency is going unrepresented..During the hearing today, the CJI recollected the Court's statement from the previous hearing and reiterated that Dhankhar could take a view accordingly following an apology from Chadha.."I had said last time that if Mr Chadha is willing to tender an apology, the chairman who is a distinguished senior can take a view as how long can we keep him in suspension. We are also aware of the dignity of the house and that along with being the Vice President he (Jagdeep Dhankhar) is the Chairperson of the House and if he (Chadha) apologises to him then the Chairman can take a view accordingly," the Court said..In response, advocate Shadan Farasat for Chadha stated that as the youngest member of the House, Chadha had no problem in tendering the unconditional apology."He is the youngest member of the house and there is no problem in tendering the apology," Farasat said..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.