Supreme Court Suggestion Prompts Raghav Chadha to Seek Unconditional Apology Meeting

In response to a suggestion from the Supreme Court (SC) to offer an unconditional apology to Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha has taken steps to arrange a meeting with the Chairman.

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In response to a suggestion from the Supreme Court (SC) to offer an unconditional apology to Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha has taken steps to arrange a meeting with the Chairman.

Chadha expressed his intentions after the Supreme Court proposed that the Rajya Sabha Chairperson consider the matter sympathetically in light of the controversy related to the select committee.

In response to the Supreme Court's guidance, Chadha expressed, "In accordance with the recent order issued by the respected Supreme Court, wherein I have committed to personally meet the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, I have formally requested an appointment with the esteemed Chairman to discuss the matter of my suspension as a Member of Parliament."

The Supreme Court, composed of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, instructed Chadha to meet with Jagdeep Dhankhar and offer an unconditional apology for his suspension from the House. The bench expressed hope that the Chairperson would view the matter with empathy. Chadha's lawyer confirmed that the MP had no intention to undermine the House's dignity and would seek an appointment with the Rajya Sabha Chairperson to present an unconditional apology.

The bench also instructed the Attorney General for India, R Venkataramani, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to inform them of the developments in the case after the Diwali vacation. Chadha's counsel emphasized that he is the youngest member of the House and has no objections to apologizing.

The Supreme Court had previously expressed concern about Chadha's indefinite suspension and its impact on people's right to representation. It questioned whether the Privileges Committee had the authority to issue an indefinite suspension order for an MP, especially one from the political opposition.

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Chadha had approached the Supreme Court to challenge his suspension from Rajya Sabha, which occurred on August 11 due to a breach of privilege during the Monsoon Session. The suspension was related to accusations of including names of Rajya Sabha MPs in a select committee without their consent. Chadha maintained that the suspension was illegal and lacked legal authority.

The reason behind his suspension can be traced back to a proposal put forth by the Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal. In his proposal, he requested consequences for Chadha due to his inclusion of the names of Rajya Sabha members in a suggested select committee for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, without their consent.