JPC Report May Retain Provision for Officials to Step Down After Arrest

The prime minister, the chief minister and other ministers will have to step down in the event of arrest in serious criminal cases. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the controversial 130th Constitution Amendment Bill, which makes such a provision, is likely to adopt its report on July 17. According to sources, the committee has held detailed discussions on various provisions of the bill. Now preparations are underway to approve the final report. According to information, the committee's report may retain the most talked-about and controversial provision of the bill. Under the proposed arrangement, if the prime minister, the chief minister of a state or a minister of the central or state government is arrested in a serious criminal case and remains in judicial or police custody for 30 days in a row, then a provision can be made to automatically remove him from his post. The aim of this arrangement is to ensure that people's representatives who have been detained for a long time in serious criminal cases do not remain in the highest positions of the executive. Sources say that if the committee approves its report on July 17, it is likely to be tabled in Parliament directly from the monsoon session.