Govt to Table Bill For Automatic Removal of Jailed PMs, CMs on Serious Charges

The government is set to introduce a significant bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that establishes a legal framework for the removal of a Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or any minister who is arrested and detained for an extended period on serious criminal charges. Senior officials confirmed that the proposed legislation aims to fill a constitutional gap and uphold public trust in elected representatives by ensuring that high office cannot be held from behind bars for serious offenses.

The core of the bill introduces a 30-day threshold for action. Under the proposed provisions, if any minister is held in custody for 30 consecutive days on charges of a serious crime—defined as an offense punishable by five or more years in prison—a process for their removal is triggered.

For a Union or state minister, the Prime Minister or respective Chief Minister would be expected to advise the President or Governor to remove them. If that advice is not given, the minister’s post would automatically terminate on the 31st day. The same rule applies to the leaders themselves; if a Prime Minister or a Chief Minister remains in jail for 30 consecutive days, they will be required to resign by the 31st day, failing which their position will automatically cease to exist.

To enact these changes, the legislation seeks to amend key constitutional provisions, namely Articles 75, 164, and 239AA, as well as Section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. A new clause, (4A), is proposed for the J&K act, specifying the removal mechanism for a minister in the Union Territory by the Lieutenant Governor on the Chief Minister’s advice, with an automatic cessation of office if no advice is tendered. Similar parallel mechanisms are detailed for the central and state governments.

The bill’s Statement of Objects and Reasons highlights the critical need to safeguard constitutional morality. It argues that while elected leaders embody the aspirations of the people, there is currently no provision to address a scenario where a sitting Prime Minister or minister is incarcerated on serious criminal charges.

“It is expected that the character and conduct of Ministers holding office should be beyond any ray of suspicion,” the statement reads. It further warns that a minister facing such allegations from custody “may thwart or hinder the canons of constitutional morality and principles of good governance and eventually diminish the constitutional trust reposed by people in him.”