NEW DELHI, August 19: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has ruled that English daily The Pioneer had perpetrated a breach of privilege by publishing a "grossly libellous" article but rejected the privilege motion saying it would be beneath the dignity of the House to take further note of motivated imputations.
"I believe that the disapproval by large sections of this Honorable House, of the contents of the impugned article, clearly indicates their opinion that the publication is grossly contumacious and a deliberate affront to this Honorable House, whereby gross breach of privilege has been committed," he said in his ruling yesterday.
Chatterjee nipped the motion in the bud, asserting, "In view of the condemnation on the floor of the House and as it will be beneath the dignity of this great institution to take further note of the motivated imputations in the impugned article, I do not give my consent as requested and I treat this matter as closed." He argued that the article had not enhanced the prestige of the media either and hoped that the fraternity, to which the correspondent belongs, will consider the matter in its proper perspective.
The privilege issue had been raised by several Lok Sabha members, including Ramji Lal Suman and Professor Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Devendra Prasad Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, who wanted action against The Pioneer's editor and publisher, Chandan Mitra and the columnist who wrote the article 'Speaker asks for trouble', Swapan Dasgupta.
The veteran lawyer-parliamentarian said, "According to me, the position in law is beyond any doubt and to any one concerned with the parliamentary system it is clear that the impugned article not only reeks of malice but is highly contumacious in its conception and in its contents as it deliberately accuses the Speaker of partiality and reflects on his character and actions as Speaker, which amounts to gross breach of privilege of the Speaker and also of the House."
The Speaker's statement did not come without a warning. He cautioned, "In future, reckless and contumacious conduct indulged in, by whosoever may be, will be dealt with in the appropriate manner, so as to preserve and enhance the dignity of the highest public forum in our country."
Chatterjee did not leave it at that. "Freedom of the Press, a cherished fundamental right in our country, is subject to reasonable restrictions, as contemplated by the Constitution itself, and cannot and does not comprise of deliberately tendentious and motivated attacks on the great institutions of this Republic and their officers and functionaries," he said.
