‘Contempt of parliament’ bill passed by NA: Legislature vies for institutional hegemony?

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed, “The Contempt of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) Bill, 2023” that states whoever is found guilty of contempt of a house or a committee shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with a fine which may extend to Rs10 million or with both.

The Contempt of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) Bill, 2023 was presented by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dissident lawmaker Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon in the House for passage. The House unanimously approved the bill.

Parliament contempt bill introduced in NA

According to clause 03 of the Bill, 3 Contempt and grounds for contempt –“A person is said to have committed contempt of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) if he is found to have: (a)willfully breached the privilege of a member, a House or a Committed, in any manner whatsoever it may be; (b) willfully violated any law guarantying the immunities or privileges of the members; (c) willfully failed or refused to obey any order or direction of a House or a Committee thereof; (d) refused to give evidence or recorded false statement before a Committee; (e) attempted or influenced a witness either by intimidation, threat or use of force to prevent him from providing evidence, producing documents or appearing before the Committee; and (f) failed to provide any documents or submitted tempered documents or before a House or a Committee thereof.”

Clause 04 of the bill further described as “A House through a Motion may charge any person for contempt of a House and; the Speaker or the Chairman Senate, may refer the matter to the Contempt Committee.”

According to clause 9 of the bill, Punishment. - Whoever is found guilty of contempt of a House or a Committee thereof under section 3, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to 10 million rupees or with both.

Clause 10 of the described as 11, “(1) Appeal against any decision of a House can be filed before the Joint Sitting, within thirty days of announcement of the decision. (2) The Joint Sitting may refer such appeal to the Committee of Joint Sitting which shall give its final report within thirty days.”

All proceedings before the committee are deemed quasi-judicial, and the evidence and documents produced before the committee are not admissible in court. Individuals giving evidence or producing documents before the Committee are exempt from civil, criminal, or departmental proceedings.

After the passage of the bill, the mover, Rana Muhammad Noon said it was a historic moment in the country’s parliamentary history. “It will ensure the supremacy of parliament, which is the mother of all institutions,” he said, adding that such legislation existed in the four provinces but not at the federal level. Rana Qasim Noon said that it would be contempt to breach the privilege of parliament and those involved in such acts could be punished.

The house also passed, The National University for Security Science, Islamabad Bill, 2022, and The National Excellence Institute Bill, 2023.

The Askari Institute of Higher Education Bill, 2023 and The Metropolitan International Institute of Science and Technology Bill, 2023 were also introduced in the house and the speaker referred them to the concerned Standing Committee for further deliberation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023