Articles 104, 105 and 106 of the Constitution of India: Penalty, Parliamentary Privileges and Salaries

Articles 104, 105 and 106 form part of the constitutional framework governing Parliament. Article 104 imposes a monetary penalty for sitting or voting in specified circumstances without lawful entitlement. Article 105 protects freedom of speech and specified parliamentary proceedings and privileges. Article 106 authorises Parliament to determine the salaries and allowances of its members by law.

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Article 104 - Penalty for sitting and voting before oath or when not qualified or disqualified

What Article 104 means: Article 104 applies where a person sits or votes as a member of either House of Parliament before complying with Article 99, or does so while knowing that he or she is not qualified, is disqualified, or is prohibited by a law made by Parliament from sitting or voting.

Text and effect of Article 104

If a person sits or votes as a member of either House of Parliament before complying with Article 99, or while knowing that the person is not qualified or is disqualified for membership, or is prohibited from doing so by a law made by Parliament, the person is liable for each day of such sitting or voting to a penalty of Rs. 500, recoverable as a debt due to the Union.

The provision therefore links the right to participate as a member with compliance with the constitutional oath or affirmation and with the rules on qualification and disqualification. The penalty is calculated for each day on which the prohibited sitting or voting occurs.

Article 105 - Powers, privileges and immunities of Parliament, members and committees

What Article 105 means: Article 105 protects the institutional functioning of Parliament. It provides freedom of speech in Parliament subject to the Constitution and the rules and standing orders regulating parliamentary procedure, and it creates specified immunities relating to speeches, votes and authorised parliamentary publications.

Clause (1): Freedom of speech in Parliament

Subject to the Constitution and to the rules and standing orders regulating the procedure of Parliament, there is freedom of speech in Parliament.

Clause (2): Immunity for speech, votes and authorised publication

A Member of Parliament is not liable to proceedings in a court in respect of anything said or any vote given by that member in Parliament or a parliamentary committee. The clause also protects publication, by or under the authority of either House, of reports, papers, votes or proceedings.

Clause (3): Other powers, privileges and immunities

Other powers, privileges and immunities of each House, its members and its committees may be defined by Parliament by law. Until so defined, they remain those applicable immediately before the coming into force of section 15 of the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978.

Clause (4): Other persons entitled to participate

Clauses (1), (2) and (3) also apply, in the same manner, to persons who have a constitutional right to speak in or otherwise take part in proceedings of a House of Parliament or its committees.

Important judicial development: In Sita Soren v. Union of India, 2024 INSC 161, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that the immunity under Article 105(2), and the corresponding protection under Article 194(2), does not protect a legislator from criminal prosecution for bribery connected with a speech or vote. Parliamentary privilege protects legislative functions; it does not create immunity for the independent criminal act of accepting a bribe.

Article 106 - Salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament

What Article 106 means: Members of either House of Parliament are entitled to receive salaries and allowances determined by Parliament by law. The transitional part of Article 106 referred to the allowances and conditions applicable to members of the Constituent Assembly of the Dominion of India until Parliament made such a law.

Constitutional rule

Article 106 is the constitutional authority for Parliament to determine by legislation the salaries and allowances payable to Members of Parliament.

Parliament enacted the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 to provide the statutory framework contemplated by Article 106. The Act covers salary, daily allowance, travel facilities, constituency and office expense allowances, pension and related matters.

Current salary revision: Under the statutory cost-inflation mechanism, the Central Government notified revised amounts with effect from 1 April 2023. The notified basic salary is Rs. 1,24,000 per month and the daily allowance is Rs. 2,500. These statutory rates are separate from the wording of Article 106 itself.

For constitutional text and official legislative material, readers may also consult the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice. For parliamentary information, committee material and House resources, see the Digital Sansad portal.

Quick summary

Article 104 enforces the constitutional conditions for lawful participation in Parliament by imposing a daily monetary penalty in specified cases. Article 105 protects parliamentary speech, votes, authorised publications and other recognised privileges needed for legislative functioning, but the Supreme Court has clarified that bribery is outside that immunity. Article 106 provides the constitutional basis for salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament, now principally governed by the 1954 Act and rules and notifications made under it.

Last reviewed: 18 September 2026. This page is intended for general legal information. For a specific legal issue, consult the current constitutional text, applicable legislation, rules, notifications and judicial decisions.