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dated March 20, 1956: No privilege, rules Speaker

The Speaker, Mr. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, ruled in the Lok Sabha on March 19 that he did not think the leakage of Budget raised the question of breach of privilege of the House, nor would any useful purpose be served by referring the matter to a special committee of the House. He, however, conceded the request for a discussion on the subject. Turning down the demand by several Opposition members to refer the matter to the committee of privileges, he referred to precedents in the United Kingdom and said that, under the Indian Constitution, "the powers, privileges and immunities of the House are such as were enjoyed by the House of Commons at the commencement of our Constitution. So far as I can gather, only two cases occurred in which the House of Commons took notice of leakage of Budget proposals. They are known as the `Thomas Case' and the `Dalton Case.' In neither of these cases was the leakage treated as a breach of privilege nor the cases sent to the committee of privileges for inquiry. The prevailing view in the House of Commons is that until the financial proposals are placed before the House of Commons they are an official secret. A reference of the present leakage to the committee of privileges does not, therefore arise."

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