New Delhi: The Centre’s proposed legislation to ensure automatic removal of a Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or minister if denied bail for 30 days in a serious criminal case faces a long and contentious road.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, citing his own resignation in 2010 before being arrested by the CBI, defended the move in Parliament. The push for the bills comes in the backdrop of former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal clinging to office while in jail earlier this year, which left Delhi governance paralysed.
The draft bills—now with a parliamentary committee—allow reinstatement if bail is secured. However, this clashes with the Supreme Court’s stance in the Senthil Balaji case, where the bench insisted a minister cannot hold office while on bail due to risks of influencing witnesses.
Opposition leaders argue the bills undermine the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” and could be misused by the Centre through agencies like the ED and CBI to destabilise state governments. The government, however, maintains that constitutional functionaries cannot effectively govern from prison.
Passage will be difficult. Apart from likely resistance in the joint parliamentary committee, the bills—requiring a two-thirds majority—may face legal challenges in the Supreme Court. If enacted, this would mark the most sweeping political anti-corruption reform since the SC’s 2013 ruling disqualifying convicted MPs and MLAs, which ended Lalu Prasad Yadav’s electoral career.
