Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against his suspension from the Rajya Sabha. Chadha, who represents Punjab in the upper house, was suspended on August 11 for allegedly obstructing house proceedings. The suspension will continue until the Privileges Committee concludes its proceedings against him. In his petition, Chadha challenges the “indefinite suspension” as illegal and arbitrary, citing the Supreme Court’s judgment in Ashish Shelar v. State of Maharashtra (2022), where the court quashed the Maharashtra Assembly’s resolution to suspend twelve MLAs. The Supreme Court upheld that suspending a member beyond one session is illegal and arbitrary. Chadha argues that the Rajya Sabha violated Rule 256 of the Rajya Sabha Rules, which prohibits member suspension for a period “exceeding the remainder of the session.” He also claims that the suspension infringes on the rights of the people of Punjab, whom he represents. Chadha has accused the Rajya Sabha chairperson of selectively targeting him as a vocal member of the opposition. He points out that the suspension was ordered on the final day of the Monsoon Session and is continuing even after the end of the session and the following Special Session. Chadha has also challenged the Rajya Sabha Secretariat’s eviction of him from his allotted bungalow in the Delhi High Court.
Written by N.Yogendra Mani of KL University Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh ( 5th semester) an intern under Legal Vidhiya
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