New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Friday rejected notices of privilege against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on leakage of the Pathak Inquiry Authority report.
However, Chatterjee added that he expects the Government to investigate the matter and take action.
"I hold that no breach of privilege or contempt of the House has been occasioned by the leakage of the contents of the report. I, therefore, disallow the notices of question of privilege," the Speaker ruled.
The privilege notices were given by BJP deputy leader V K Malhotra and party colleagues Sontosh Gangwar and B C Khanduri, Braja Kishore Tripathy (BJD), Prabhunath Singh and George Fernandes (both JD-U), Sukhdev Singh Libra, Shiromani Akali Dal, and Mohan Singh of Samajwadi Party.
The Speaker ruled that giving premature publicity to any matter connected with the business of the House was not breach of privilege and contempt, "though in some cases, it may amount to an act of impropriety".
"It has been held that no privilege of Parliament is involved if statement on any matter of public interest is not first made in the House and is made outside," he contended.
"Such actions are against conventions and propriety but do not constitute any basis on which breach of privilege can be founded," he said.
The BJP-led Opposition had stalled proceedings earlier this week over the leakage issue and moved notices of breach of privilege against the Prime Minister.
In his report submitted to Prime Minister on August 3 and later tabled in Parliament by Government, Justice R S Pathak indicted former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh for playing a role in influencing and facilitating procurement of oil contracts in Iraq.
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