New Delhi [India], July 17 : In a sudden decsion ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, the Parliamentary panel looking into the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025 and two other related bills on Friday decided to have more deliberations and deferred the adoption of the draft report.
Chairperson of the panel Aparajita Sarangi said they have kept the report "pending as of now". The bill seeks to provide a legal framework for the removal of the Chief Minister, Minister or Prime Minister if arrested or detained for 30 days in cases of serious criminal offences.
Opposition parties are strongly opposed to the Constitution Amendment Bill, though members of some parties opposed to the BJP are participating in the deliberations of the panel.
Though adoption of the draft report was on the agenda of the committee, it deferred the decision
"The meeting did not adopt the draft report today. We will have further deliberations. There were five recommendations placed before all of us. But when we started discussing the recommendations, the entire Joint Parliamentary Committee unanimously felt that we needed more deliberations and consultation with more stakeholders," Aparajita Sarangi later told reporters.
"We are keeping it pending as of now. We wrote two letters, to all 27 political parties--one on 13 May 2026 and another on 30 June 2026. Five parties sent their suggestions, but declined to join in. The government wanted to take everyone along. We held discussions with members from other parties, and there was broad agreement that the Bill would have far-reaching implications for the country. Everyone acknowledged that the government's intent was right, but felt the proposal required further discussion and consideration. Discussions with the major opposition parties are also continuing," she added.
The committee examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025, The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025 heard the views of Home Ministry officials on Friday.
"Consideration and adoption of Draft Report" was on the agenda of the panel.
Opposition members later said that the decision to defer adoption of report was taken while the voting was being done on the recommendations.
They said that two recommendations had been voted upon and the third was being discussed.
Sources said that the draft report had a recommendation that the terminology of "removal/cease to be a minister" may be substituted with "suspension"
They said the draft report also had a recommendation that "serious criminal offences" mentioned in the statement and objectives of the bill may be defined as "serious criminal offences which are punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or more"
Sources said there was a recommendation for an automatic reversal clause and fast-track or special courts for the trial of cases
Sources said AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule withdrew their dissent notes after the committee decided to have further deliberations
Opposition members in the panel conveyed their opposition to the bill and a member pointed to the "flaws of the proposed suspension" provision.
Opposition members are learnt to have said that while the trigger for action will come from the executive, relief will come from the judiciary and that the trigger for any action should also come from the judiciary.
Opposition members said that the committee chairperson went out briefly during the discussion on recommendations.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had introduced the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the two related bills in the Lok Sabha in August last year.
This bill provides that individuals holding important constitutional positions, such as the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and Ministers of the Central and State Governments, cannot run the government while in jail.
Introducing the bill, Amit Shah had said the purpose of this bill is to elevate the declining standards of morality in public life and bring integrity to politics.
He had said that laws resulting from these three bills will ensure that no person, while under arrest and in jail, can govern as Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or Minister of the Central or State Government.
"When the Constitution was framed, its architects could not have imagined that in the future, there would be political figures who would refuse to resign on moral grounds before being arrested. In recent years, an astonishing situation has arisen in the country where Chief Ministers or Ministers have unethically run the government from jail without resigning," he had said.
This bill includes a provision that allows an accused politician to seek bail from the court within 30 days of arrest.
"If they fail to secure bail within 30 days, on the 31st day, either the Prime Minister at the Centre or the Chief Ministers in the states will remove them from their positions; otherwise, they will automatically become legally disqualified from performing their duties. If such a leader is granted bail after the legal process, they may resume their position," the Home Minister said.
There was speculation in the political circles that the Constitution Amendment Bill providing for removal of PM and CMs in serious offence cases will be taken up in the monsoon session of Parliament.
There has also been speculation that the government may bring the delimitation bill linked to women's reservation in the monsoon session if it is convinced of the support of a two-thirds majority in the two Houses. The bill was defeated in the winter session of Parliament.