India’s top court says no immunity from prosecution to lawmakers for taking bribes to vote in legislature

NEW DELHI | Xinhua |  India’s top court Monday in a landmark judgement said lawmakers in parliament and state assemblies (lawmaking bodies) are not immune from prosecution in bribery cases.

The top court’s seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud with its verdict set aside a 1998 judgment in which a five-member constitution bench had upheld the immunity for lawmakers in cases where lawmakers take bribes for a speech or a vote in the house.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the apex court’s verdict and described it as a “great judgement”. ■