Which of the following statements about the Ethics Committee in the Lok Sabha are correct?
- 1.Initially it was an ad-hoc Committee.
- 2.Only a Member of the Lok Sabha can make a complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member of the Lok Sabha.
- 3.This Committee cannot take up any matter which is sub-judice.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 are correct; statement 2 is wrong because Lok Sabha's Rule 233A lets any person, not only a Member, complain about a Member's unethical conduct, provided a Member forwards it. The Committee on Ethics began as an ad-hoc committee in 2000 and was made a regular standing committee in 2015.
- ✓ 1. The Committee on Ethics was first constituted as an ad-hoc committee on 16 May 2000, during the 13th Lok Sabha.
- ✗ 2. Rule 233A says any person or member may complain. If the complaint comes from an outsider, a Member must forward it, and an affidavit is needed unless a Member is the complainant.
- ✓ 3. Rule 233A(10) bars the Committee from taking up any sub-judice matter (one pending before a court), and the Committee's own decision on whether a matter is sub-judice is final.
- • Since then Since 2015 (16th Lok Sabha) the Committee is a regular standing committee under Rule 316A, no longer ad-hoc (Lok Sabha Secretariat).
Remember · Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee: ad-hoc from 2000, standing since 2015; any person may complain through a Member; sub-judice matters are excluded.
Sources
- Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, Rule 233A (Sansad) ↗ “Any person or member may make a complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member of Lok Sabha:– Provided that if a complaint is made by any person, it shall be forwarded by a member. … The Committee on Ethics shall not take up any matter which is sub-judice and the decision of the Committee as to whether such matter is or is not sub-judice shall for the purposes of these rules be treated as final.”
- Parliamentary Committees, Lok Sabha Secretariat (Sansad) ↗ “The Committee on Ethics was constituted orginally as an ad-hoc Committee on 16 May, 2000 during 13th Lok Sabha.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·