Ministers, PMs and CMs May Lose Office After 30 Days in Jail: Bills Sent to Joint Committee
The Lok Sabha has referred three major Bills, including the 130th Constitutional Amendment, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further review. These Bills propose that any minister — even a Prime Minister or Chief Minister — will automatically lose office if they remain in jail for 30 days in cases where the offence carries a minimum punishment of five years.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the resolution, which was approved despite strong protests from the opposition. The Joint Committee will have 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha, and it will submit a detailed report in the next session.
Key Provisions in the Bills
- Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025
- Applies to Union, State and Delhi Ministers.
- If a minister is jailed for 30 days for a serious offence (minimum five-year punishment), they will lose their post.
- The President (for Union), Governor (for State) or Lieutenant Governor (for Delhi) will remove them on the PM/CM’s advice.
- If the PM/CM themselves are detained, they must resign by the 31st day, failing which their post will automatically fall vacant.
- Such leaders may be re-appointed after release.
- Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025
- Extends the same rule to Union Territories.
- A UT Chief Minister or minister will automatically lose their post if detained for 30 days in a serious case.
- Re-appointment is possible after release.
- Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025
- Introduces the same system in Jammu & Kashmir.
- The Lieutenant Governor will remove detained ministers on the CM’s advice.
- If the CM is in jail, they must resign by the 31st day or lose office automatically.
- Re-appointment allowed after release.
Opposition Reactions
The Bills triggered heated debate in Parliament. Leaders including Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Manish Tewari (INC), KC Venugopal (INC), NK Premchandran (RSP), and Dharmendra Yadav (SP) opposed the move and disrupted proceedings. Despite this, the House passed the motion to refer the Bills to the Joint Committee.
