Passage 1
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, ruled that lawmakers facing bribery charges in connection with their speech and votes in the House cannot be immune from criminal prosecution. In doing so, the Court held that claims to parliamentary privilege by lawmakers can be subject to judicial review, and only Parliament cannot have the last word on the issue.
“Privileges and immunities are not gateways to claim exemptions from the general law of the land… Corruption and bribery of members of the legislature erode the foundation of Indian parliamentary democracy,” the Supreme Court observed.
“The legislator will face criminal prosecution whether or not he makes a speech or votes in favour of the bribe-giver. The offence of bribery is complete on the acceptance of the money or on the agreement to accept money being concluded,” Chief Justice Chandrachud observed.
Source- https://indianexpress.com/article/
Passage 2
France became the world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution on Monday, the culmination of an effort that began in direct response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the half-century-old right to the procedure, allowing states to ban or curtail abortion.
Lawmakers from both houses of the French Parliament voted 780 to 72 in favor of the measure, easily clearing the majority needed to amend the French constitution.
Monday’s vote, held during a special gathering of lawmakers at the Palace of Versailles, southwest of Paris, was the final step in the legislative process. The French Senate and National Assembly each overwhelmingly approved the amendment earlier this year.
The amendment states that there is a “guaranteed freedom” to abortion in France. Some groups and lawmakers had called for stronger language to explicitly call abortion a “right.”
Source- https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/04/
