Legislative committees have specific powers and functions as defined by law and are not vested with adjudicatory jurisdiction.

JUDGMENT :

ASHOK S KINAGI, J.

This intra-court appeal is filed under Section 4 of the Karnataka High Courts Act challenging the order dated 11.08.2022, passed in W.P.No.9456/2022 by the learned Single Judge.

2. Parties are referred to as per their ranking before the learned Single Judge. Appellant is the petitioner and respondents are the respondents before the learned Single Judge.

3. Brief facts leading rise to filing of this appeal are as under:

Respondent No.3 issued a communication dated 04.05.2022, bearing No.119, wherein a Sub-Committee has been constituted to inspect the Nursing Colleges and Allied Health Sciences Colleges and Nursing Schools in the State of Karnataka to ascertain as to whether they have been running the institution as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Nursing Council and to inspect the building infrastructure, etc. The petitioner aggrieved by the communication dated 04.05.2022, constituting a Sub-Committee, preferred a writ petition in W.P.No. 9456/2022. The learned Single Judge after considering the material on record, dismissed the writ petition vide order dated 11.08.2022. The petitioner, aggrieved by the order passed by the learned Single Judge, has filed this intra-court appeal.

4. Heard Sri. Udaya Holla, learned senior counsel for the petitioner and Sri. Dhyan Chinnappa, learned Additional Advocate General for respondents No.1 to 4 and Sri. Shivarudra, learned counsel for respondent No.5.

5. Learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that respondent No.3 has no jurisdiction to constitute a Sub-Committee to ascertain whether the Nursing Institutions are running as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Nursing Council and to inspect the building infrastructure, etc. He further submits that the Sub-Committee has no right to assess and the same is not the function of the legislative Council. He further submits that the legislature has not framed any statute setting out the powers, privileges and immunities of the House of the legislatures of the State and of the members and the Committees of the House as mandated under Article 194(3) of the Constitution of India. He submits that the learned Single Judge wholly erred in not noticing the scope of powers, privileges and immunities. He submits that the impugned order is arbitrary and erroneous. In order to buttress his argument he has placed reliance on the following decisions:

(1) Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of Sandeep Kumari & Ors. vs. State of Punjab & Anr., reported in 2013 SCC Online P&H 15602;

(2) Amarinder Singh vs. Special Committee Punjab Vidhan Sabha & Ors., reported in (2010) 6 SCC 113;

(3) Ashish Shelar & Ors. vs. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly & Anr., reported in 2022 SCC Online SC 105;

(4) Ajit Mohan, Vice-President & Managing Director of the petitioner 2 Face book India Online Services Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. vs. Legislative Assembly, National Capital, Territory of Delhi & Ors., reported in (2022) 3 SCC 529; and

(5) Naseem Bano (Smt.) vs. State of UP & Ors., reported in 1993 Supp. (4) SCC 46.

Hence on these grounds, he prays to allow the writ appeal.

6. Per contra Sri. Dhyan Chinnappa, learned AAG submits that the Sub-Committee has been constituted as per Rule 199 of the Rules of Procedure & Conduct of Business in the Karnataka Legislative Council (‘the Rules’ for short). He further submits that the Sub-Committee can take evidence and call for papers, records or documents as per Rule 205 of the Rules and the Sub-Committee can record the examination of witnesses and he further submits that as per Rule 223 of the Rules, the Committee has such powers, other functions as may be assigned to it by the Chairman from time to time. He further submits that the Sub-Committee has been constituted only with an intention to ascertain whether the institution has got the basic infrastructure for the purpose of running Nursing Colleges. He submits that constituting the Sub-Committee is in accordance with the Rules. In order to buttress his