The Privileges Committee of Rajya Sabha has summoned lawyer Prashant Bhushan to appear before it on February 10 in connection with a breach of privilege notice against him for the alleged premature disclosure of a CAG report on allocation of D6 Block in KG Basin.
In a communication to Bhushan, a Supreme Court lawyer and a leader of the outfit, Swaraj Abhiyan, Deputy Director of Rajya Sabha, Vijay Kumar, has asked him to appear in person before the Committee of Privileges headed by Congress MP PJ Kurien.
The committee, which had met on October 6, last year to discuss the matter, decided to summon him to hear his defence.
A privilege notice was given by JD-U MP KC Tyagi in this matter on July 1, 2014.
In the letter to Bhushan, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat says "the Committee of Privileges is presently seized of a matter of breach of privilege of the House arising out of the alleged premature disclosure of a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India pertaining to the allocation of D6 Block in KG basin to the Reliance Group in the press before the same was laid on the table of the House".
Referring to the notice given by Tyagi, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat told Bhushan that "the Committee while considering the matter in its sitting held on October 6, 2015, has decided to hear you in the matter."
Bhushan posted a copy of the Rajya Sabha notice asking him to appear before the panel on twitter, saying, "Rajya Sabha sect (sic) has issued breach of privilege notice for premature disclosure of CAG report on RIL loot of Gas!"
Bhushan also posted his response to the notice.
Asked about the notice, the former AAP member said, "According to Supreme Court judgements, Privileges of Parliament are only those privileges without which Parliament cannot function.
"It is absurd to suggest that the disclosure of a CAG report to be tabled in Parliament can in any manner prevent or impede the functioning of Parliament. Perhaps the time has come to educate MPs about the notion of breach of privilege."
Bhushan further said that "the Breach of Privilege notice sent by Rajya Sabha Secretariat for premature disclosure of CAG report on Reliance's loot of gas from KG Basin shows total ignorance of fundamental rights of citizens of this country and shows total lack of understanding of what constitutes a breach of privilege.
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Bhushan said the citizens have a right to know about the "loot of natural resources" in the country, especially as exposed by CAG audits.
The lawyer, who has also filed a PIL in this regard, said, "I have been not only disclosing the CAG reports to the people as and when I get them but also using them in the courts in PILs like in 2G scam or coal scam cases."
Bhushan, who was a founder member of AAP until his expulsion from the party last year, has been raising the KG Basin issue for some time now.
It was one of the main issues raised by AAP during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, targeting both BJP and Congress.
