Privileges panel tables interim report on ‘Phansi Ghar’ row

The Committee of Privileges' report on the 'Phansi Ghar' row finds Kejriwal and others in contempt for failing to appear and recommends action against them.

New Delhi: The Committee of Privileges, in its interim report presented on Monday, has detailed the case history and issued recommendations in the alleged ‘Phansi Ghar’ row.

Photo for representation (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The report traces the origin of the case to August 7, 2025, when the Speaker referred the issue of the structure’s authenticity to the committee for investigation. Several senior leaders, including former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, were summoned but did not appear in initial sittings held in November 2025. The committee, in its earlier findings adopted by the House in January 2026, held their absence to be contempt of the House.

Subsequently, the House directed them to appear and explain their absence. While some members appeared in March 2026, the committee noted that no satisfactory explanation was provided for their earlier non-attendance.

The committee held Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Ram Niwas Goel and Rakhi Birla in contempt of the House and the Committee for their deliberate and wilful absence.

The committee has recommended that the House “may take proper action as deemed fit” against them.

The ‘Phansi Ghar’ controversy involves a row over a site inside the Delhi Legislative Assembly, which was claimed to be a British-era gallows but was later identified as a ‘tiffin room’. The site became a political flashpoint, leading to investigations against Kejriwal.