What is the difference between the breach of privileges and contempt of the House?
Answer. When any of the privileges either of the members individually or of the House in its collective capacity are disregarded or attacked by any individual or authority, the offence is called a `breach of privilege’. Contempt of the House may be defined generally as “any act or omission which obstructs or impedes either House of Parliament in the performance of its functions, or which obstructs or impedes any member or officers of such House in the discharge of his duty, or which has a tendency, directly or indirectly, to produce such results. Whereas all breaches of privilege are contempts of the House whose privileges are violated, a person may be guilty of a contempt of the House even though he does not violate any of the privilege of the House, e.g. when he disobeys an order to attend a committee or publishes reflections on the character or conduct of a member in his capacity as a member.
