The past year was one of late-night functioning of Parliament. In April, the Rajya Sabha stayed up until 4 am discussing the Waqf Amendment Bill and President’s Rule in Manipur. In December 2025, the Lok Sabha wrapped up the G-RAM-G Bill discussions at 1 am. The Rajya Sabha then passed this new employment guarantee law at 2 am the next day.The recently concluded Winter Session also saw Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha MPs hold an overnight protest in the Parliament complex. Prepared with warm clothing, sleeping bags and homemade food to face the Delhi winter, these MPs slept on the steps of the old Parliament building in protest against the government pushing the G-RAM-G Bill through the national legislature.AdvertisementLate-night parliamentary sittings have a long history, with the most famous being the midnight session of August 14-15, 1947, when India marked its Independence. But perhaps the first time an MP stayed overnight in Parliament had nothing to do with a momentous occasion, discussing national issues or debating critical legislation — it was to avoid arrest by the police in 1964.The MP was Mani Ram Bagri, 42, whom the voters of Hisar (now in Haryana) had elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1962 on a Socialist Party ticket.Bagri began his legislative journey as an MLA in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. A quick-witted orator, he was a passionate but disruptive parliamentarian. In his first parliamentary session, his obstruction of Lok Sabha proceedings resulted in his suspension from the House for seven days. In the next five years, he would disrupt the President’s address, the Speaker would repeatedly ask him to leave the House and he would face a ban from proceedings for over 30 days. In a letter, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru referred to him as a “very troublesome person”. And Bagri, in the heat of debate, once accused Nehru of speaking “like a dictator”.AdvertisementBut Bagri also actively participated in Lok Sabha proceedings. In his first term, he asked the government 1,700 questions and intervened in House proceedings over 500 times. He raised a diverse range of issues, including labour, finance, foreign affairs, and national security, highlighting that he was an MP, not simply a representative of Hisar.Bagri was also no stranger to the legal process. During his time as an MLA, one of his public speeches had led the Punjab government to initiate proceedings against him. After becoming an MP, he would participate in demonstrations in Delhi, including a few outside the PM’s residence. And it was his participation in one of these dharnas in 1964 that led the authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against him.Apprehending arrest, Bagri approached the Lok Sabha Speaker for protection. The Speaker consulted senior House leaders. He then allowed Bagri to remain on Parliament grounds but prohibited from entering the building after 7 pm. As long as he stayed on Parliament’s grounds, the police could not arrest him.This privilege of not being arrested on Parliament grounds was a result of legislative developments a decade earlier, which started in the Madras Legislative Assembly. A committee of this legislature, headed by PT Rajan, defined the precincts of their legislature. As a result, serving any legal processes to any MLA on the grounds of the Assembly became a breach of privilege.In December 1955, the Lok Sabha’s Rules Committee stated that the Parliament precincts were sacrosanct. Based on the panel’s recommendation, the Lok Sabha added a rule to its procedures, stating that authorities not arrest anyone within the precincts of the House without the Speaker’s permission.So in April 1964, after the Speaker’s permission, Bagri added to the architectural landscape of the Parliament House by pitching a tent on its lawns. Lok Sabha was in session and his tent, which had a table and a chair, was a crowd-puller. Since that April in Delhi was pleasant, Bagri also added a cot for a good night’s sleep. Parliament also made arrangements for him to use the washroom and other facilities.But Bagri pushed the envelope and tried to enter the building after 7 pm without the Speaker’s permission. Parliament staff prevented his entry, which sparked a House debate over MPs’ privileges and whether Parliament should offer sanctuary to members facing arrest. One of his colleagues would highlight that Bagri’s tent was an example of Parliament’s supremacy.most readThe Speaker would then define the extent of members’ privileges in such cases and warn Bagri that the concession given to him could not continue indefinitely. Parliamentary debates suggest that Bagri took down his tent later that evening and left Parliament’s grounds without getting arrested.He would continue his demonstrations. And the authorities would learn from the experience of 1964. On August 16, 1965, the police arrested him after a car chase when he exited Parliament. Bagri would also go to jail during the Emergency and go on to win two more Lok Sabha polls.The writer looks at issues through a legislative lens and works at PRS Legislative Research