The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is an ad hoc parliamentary body and a concept in Indian polity, constituted to conduct a detailed examination of a specific issue of public importance, a complex Bill, or financial irregularities. It is a temporary body that automatically ceases to exist after completing its assigned task and presenting its report to Parliament. The committee system in India was strengthened in 1993 to enhance legislative oversight, but the first JPC was formed earlier in August 1987 to investigate the Bofors scandal. This mechanism was created to allow for deeper, bipartisan scrutiny of complex matters that require specialized attention beyond regular parliamentary debates.
A JPC is constituted through a motion passed in one House of Parliament and agreed to by the other, drawing members from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, with the former typically having twice the representation. The committee is empowered to collect evidence, examine witnesses, and call for documents, and a witness failing to appear can constitute a contempt of the House. Its findings and recommendations are advisory and not binding on the government, which is required to present an Action Taken Report (ATR) to Parliament. The JPC is a type of ad hoc committee, which distinguishes it from permanent Standing Committees. It connects to major national controversies, such as the Harshad Mehta Stock market scam (1992) and the 2G spectrum case (2011). Recently, the JPC mechanism has been used to scrutinize the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes amendments to Articles 75, 164, and 239AA regarding the removal of high-level functionaries, demonstrating its continued role in legislative oversight, while its core nature as a temporary, investigative body has stayed the same.