Narayan Rane, a member of the Rajya Sabha and the Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, has become only the third Union minister to be arrested in the country. Rane was arrested after three separate FIRs were filed against him for making harmful statements against Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Rane had said that he “would have given him (Thackeray) a tight slap” during a public meeting.

While Rane had lashed out against media reports of his imminent arrest, the Union minister was arrested by Maharashtra Police.

"I haven't committed any crime. You should verify and show it on TV or else I will file a case against you (media). Despite not committing any crime, the media is showing speculative news about my 'imminent' arrest. Do you think I am a normal man?" he had said.

His arrest and statements have fanned a political storm over the constitutionality of his detention. BJP leaders have compared the arrest to “Taliban rule” and alleged that it is against all norms and procedures.

Here’s a lowdown on rules and procedures relevant to arresting ministers and Rajya Sabha members.

What is the correct procedure?

According to the rules set out in Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, there is nothing to prevent the arrest of a Rajya Sabha member whether they are a Union minister or not.

While the Parliament is not in session, law enforcement agencies are not restricted from arresting members of the Upper House of the Parliament. However, according to Section 22 (A) of the above mentioned rules, the police, or presiding judge or magistrate must convey to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha certain details regarding the arrest. These details include the reason for the arrest, the time of the arrest, the location of the arrest and the place of detention in an appropriate form and timely manner.

The chairman will then inform the council if the House is in session. If the House is not in session, then the chairman is compelled to publish the information regarding the arrest in a bulletin or gazette for the information of the other members of the House.

Currently, the Parliament is not in session. The last date of its session was August 19, which is less than a week earlier.

Arrests cannot be made on the floors or premises of either House of the Parliament unless express permission from the presiding authority of the House — the speaker of Lok Sabha or the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Immunity from arrest?

Members of both the houses of the Parliament enjoy some immunity from arrests in certain cases. Under Section 135 of the Civil Procedural Code, members of Parliament have protection from being arrested up to 40 days before, 40 days after, and during the period when the Parliament is in session. With three parliamentary sessions being around 70 days each, the immunity against arrest extends to nearly 300 days in a single year.

However, the protection only extends to civil cases. In matters of criminal nature or arrests on preventive grounds, there is no protection afforded to any member of the Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha.

The only protection from arrests afforded to a governmental figure through the Constitution is the President of the Republic, who is immune from civil and criminal proceedings until their term is over. In the eyes of the law, every Indian citizen is an ordinary man, at least in theory.

In India, even the Prime Minister can be arrested if a criminal matter is registered against them as there are no rules to prevent such an action.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Aug 24, 2021 8:45 PM IST