Judgment :-

K.G. BALAKRISHNAN, CJI.

1. The appellant was the Chief Minister of the State of Punjab during the 12th term of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. The appellant was duly elected as a member of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for its 13th term.

2. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on 10-9-2008 passed a resolution which directed the expulsion of the appellant for the remainder of the 13th term of the same Vidhan Sabha. This resolution was passed after considering a report submitted by a Special Committee of the Vidhan Sabha (Respondent No. 1) on 3-9-2008 which recorded findings that the appellant along with some other persons (petitioners in the connected matters) had engaged in criminal misconduct. The Special Committee had itself been constituted on 18-12-2007 in pursuance of a resolution passed by the Vidhan Sabha. It had been given the task of inquiring into allegations of misconduct that related back to the appellant's tenure as the Chief Minister of the State of Punjab during the 12th term of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. More specifically, it was alleged that the appellant was responsible for the improper exemption of a vacant plot of land which was licensed to a particular private party (measuring