No additional curbs on free speech by minister

Subject: Polity

Context:

The Supreme Court in its recent judgement said that a statement made by a minister cannot be attributed to the government by invoking the principle of collective responsibility.

More about the news:

In the majority of the five judges ruled that a statement made by a minister even if traceable to any affairs of the state or for protection of the government cannot be attributed vicariously to the government by invoking the principle of collective responsibility.
In a 4:1 majority judgement, the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that additional restrictions, not found in Article 19(2) of the Constitution, cannot be imposed on the exercise of right to free speech which is guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a).
The Court ruled that the grounds mentioned in Article 19(2) for restricting free speech are exhaustive and it guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all citizens of India.
This article is subjected to certain restrictions, namely, sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offense.
Provisions in clauses (2) to (6) of Article 19 authorizes the State to restrict the exercise of the freedom guaranteed under the article.

What is the Principle of Collective Responsibility:

The Principle of Collective Responsibility is the bedrock principle of parliamentary form of government.
Article 75 of the Constitution of India states that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
This means that all the ministers own joint responsibility to the Lok Sabha for all their acts.
When the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion against the council of ministers, all the ministers have to resign including those ministers who are from the Rajya Sabha.
The principle of collective responsibility also means that the Cabinet decisions bind all cabinet ministers even if they differed in the cabinet meeting.
It is the duty of every minister to stand by cabinet decisions and support them both within and outside the Parliament. If any minister disagrees with a cabinet decision and is not prepared to defend it, he must resign.

Some Important Judgements of the Supreme Court with respect to Collective Responsibility:

Common Cause v Union of India case -In this the Supreme Court held that the principle of collective responsibility has two meanings.
- Firstly, that all the members of a government are unanimous in support of policy.
- Secondly, the ministers are responsible for the success and failures of the policies.
S.P. Anand v H.D. Deve Gowda case –In this case the court held that the principle of collective responsibility means all the ministers are collectively responsible for every decision taken whether their assent is present or not. It means their decisions must have unanimity and confidentiality.