Parliament polices its own members. The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee is how it does that — with strict rules about who can complain, what it will hear, and what it can actually decide.
1. Origins and how a complaint works
1.1 What is the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, and why was it set up?
The Lok Sabha set up its Ethics Committee in 2000, as an ad-hoc committee rebuilt fresh every term. Its one job is to examine complaints about the conduct and ethical behaviour of Lok Sabha members — nothing about their politics or their votes, just their personal conduct.
1.2 Who can actually file a complaint?
An ordinary citizen who wants to complain about an MP’s conduct can’t do it directly — only a sitting Member of the Lok Sabha can file a complaint with the Committee. If that complaint rests on second-hand information rather than something the member witnessed directly, it needs to be backed by a sworn affidavit. From there, it’s the Speaker who decides whether the complaint actually goes forward for inquiry.
True or False: The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee was set up to review the conduct of MPs, not to draft laws.
Correct! The Committee was set up in 2000 to examine MP conduct, not to make or amend laws.
Actually true. The Committee was set up in 2000 to examine MP conduct, not to make or amend laws.
2. What the Committee will and won’t decide
2.1 Why does the Committee stay away from matters already in court?
One kind of matter the Committee stays well away from: anything sub judice, already pending before a court. That’s a deliberate line, not an oversight. Courts and Parliament work separately, under the separation of powers — if the Committee ruled on facts a court was still weighing, the two verdicts could clash, and it could look like Parliament was pressuring the court. So the Committee simply waits the case out.
2.2 Can the Committee punish an MP itself?
Even after a full inquiry, the Committee can’t punish anyone itself. All it does is report its findings back to the full House. From there, the Lok Sabha decides what actually happens — a reprimand, a suspension, or expulsion. The decision power sits entirely with the House, never with the Committee.
True or False: The Ethics Committee can expel a Member of Parliament on its own authority.
Correct! The Committee only recommends. Only the full House can vote to expel or punish a member.
Not quite. The Committee only recommends. Only the full House can vote to expel or punish a member.
3. A notable case, and a committee it isn’t
3.1 What happened in the 2023 cash-for-query case?
In December 2023, the Ethics Committee inquired into a cash-for-query complaint against an MP. It recommended expulsion, and the House voted on 8 December 2023 to remove the member. The case is worth remembering because it shows the whole process working end to end — complaint, inquiry, recommendation, and finally a House vote.
3.2 How is the Ethics Committee different from the Committee of Privileges?
The Ethics Committee looks at an MP’s personal conduct — a complaint against a specific member is what triggers it. The Committee of Privileges is a different body entirely, looking at breaches of the House’s own rights, triggered by a question of privilege raised in the House. These are two separate committees with two separate jobs, and exams like to blur the line between them.
Exam Practice: PYQ Pattern
Common traps in this topic:
- Claiming any citizen can complain directly. Only a sitting MP can.
- Claiming the Committee itself expels a member. Only the full House can.
- Confusing the Ethics Committee (personal conduct) with the Committee of Privileges (breaches of the House’s own rights).
Current Affairs
The 2023 expulsion, and why it still matters
The 2023 cash-for-query expulsion put the Ethics Committee back in the news, and it’s a useful reminder that Parliament has a working mechanism to check its own members’ conduct.
Quick recall: In which year was the Ethics Committee constituted?
2000, as an ad-hoc committee, reconstituted each Lok Sabha term.
Quick recall: Who can file a complaint with the Ethics Committee?
Only a sitting Member of the Lok Sabha. Second-hand claims need a sworn affidavit.
Quick recall: What does the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 cover?
It lists offices of profit that do not disqualify a person from being an MP — this appeared in UPSC CSP 2019.
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