{"id":43110,"date":"2025-05-10T20:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T14:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=43110"},"modified":"2025-05-10T20:28:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T14:58:24","slug":"disqualification-of-mps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-05-2025\/disqualification-of-mps","title":{"rendered":"Disqualification of MPs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Karnataka MLA has been<strong> disqualified from the State Legislative Assembly<\/strong> following his conviction by the Principal Special Judge for CBI cases in Hyderabad.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Disqualification of MPs &amp; MLAs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The disqualification of a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA)<\/strong> in India is primarily governed by <strong>Article 191 of the Constitution<\/strong>, the <strong>Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The disqualification of a <strong>Member of Parliament (MP)<\/strong> in India is governed primarily by<strong> Article 102 of the Constitution, Representation of the People Act, 1951, along with the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Disqualification Under Article 102<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Holds any office of profit under the Government of India or State, unless Parliament exempts the office by law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legally declared insolvent and not yet discharged.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired citizenship of a foreign State, or shows allegiance to a foreign State.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Disqualification by Law: <\/strong>The Representation of the People Act, 1951 provides that a person will be disqualified<strong> if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Such a person is disqualified for the <strong>period of imprisonment and a further six years.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defection under the Tenth Schedule:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the MP voluntarily gives up membership of their party.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the MP votes\/abstains contrary to party directions without permission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If any independently elected member joins any political party; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If any nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of six months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Authority to Decide Disqualification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>MPs:<\/strong> President of India decides disqualification under Article 103, after consulting the Election Commission.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For defection (Tenth Schedule), the Speaker (Lok Sabha) or Chairman (Rajya Sabha) decides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MLAs:<\/strong> The Governor decides disqualification under Article 192, after obtaining the opinion of the Election Commission of India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For defection cases under the Tenth Schedule, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly makes the decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Delayed Decisions by Presiding Officers: <\/strong>Disqualification cases under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection) are decided by the Speaker (MLA) or Chairman (MP).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There are no time limits specified in the Constitution, leading to indefinite delays.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Political Bias and Conflict of Interest: <\/strong>The presiding officer (Speaker\/Chairman) usually belongs to a political party, leading to allegations of partiality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Judicial Delays: <\/strong>Though courts can review decisions under Articles 103 (MPs) and 192 (MLAs), the process is often slow.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Interim reliefs and long-pending appeals delay finality, allowing disqualified members to continue holding office.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Representation of the People Act Limitations: <\/strong>Certain criminal cases lead to automatic disqualification only after conviction.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As trials are often delayed, accused persons can continue to contest and hold office for years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ambiguity in Office of Profit Cases: <\/strong>Lack of a clear definition of what constitutes an &#8220;office of profit&#8221; has led to legal ambiguity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Perception and Accountability: <\/strong>Even when legally disqualified, politicians can contest elections again after short bans.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This undermines public trust in the system and dilutes accountability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Related Verdicts of Supreme Court<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Union of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms (2002): <\/strong>Voters\u2019 right to know criminal records of candidates was established. However, the apex court did not extend this to lifetime bans.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The CEC vs Jan Chaukidar case (2013): <\/strong>It upheld that persons who are under trial prisoners cease to be \u2018electors\u2019 and hence not qualified to contest elections.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, the Parliament amended the act in 2013 to overturn this judgment allowing under trial prisoners to contest elections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lily Thomas (2013)<\/strong><strong>Case: <\/strong>The court struck down section 8(4) of the RP Act, 1951, that allowed a sitting legislator to continue as a member even after being convicted if they filed an appeal, as unconstitutional and against political justice.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After this judgment, a sitting legislator is disqualified immediately after the sentencing for a conviction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Interest Foundation vs Union of India (2018): <\/strong>Candidates facing serious criminal charges must publicly disclose their criminal records in election affidavits. The apex court left the lifetime ban decision to Parliament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening the Anti-Defection Law: <\/strong>The Tenth Schedule, introduced in 1985, disqualifies MPs who voluntarily give up party membership or vote against party directives.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The 52nd Constitutional Amendment (1985)<\/strong> aimed to curb political instability by preventing frequent party-switching.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The 91st Constitutional Amendment (2003)<\/strong> removed the provision allowing one-third of legislators to split from a party, making defections more difficult.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Addressing Loopholes in Disqualification Process:<\/strong> The Speaker or Chairman of the House decides on disqualification, but concerns over bias and delays have led to calls for judicial oversight.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expert committees have recommended that disqualification decisions be made by the President (for MPs) or Governor (for MLAs) on the advice of the Election Commission of India, ensuring greater impartiality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Private Member\u2019s Bills for Reform:<\/strong> Some MPs have proposed Private Member\u2019s Bills to introduce stricter timelines for disqualification decisions and reduce political interference.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is growing demand for automatic disqualification in cases of party defection, rather than relying on Speaker discretion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The disqualification of Members of Parliament in India is governed by a <strong>robust legal and constitutional framework<\/strong> aimed at <strong>upholding the integrity of the legislature.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Landmark judicial interventions<\/strong> have strengthened this framework by promoting immediate accountability.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, persistent challenges like political bias in disqualification decisions and the criminalization of politics underline the need for further reforms.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthening these provisions is essential <\/strong>to maintain public trust in democratic institutions and ensure a clean and accountable political system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/political-pulse\/janardhan-reddy-illegal-mining-disqualified-as-mla-9991980\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Karnataka MLA has been disqualified from the State Legislative Assembly following his conviction by the Principal Special Judge for CBI cases in Hyderabad.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Disqualification of MPs &#038; MLAs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The disqualification of a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in India is primarily governed by Article 191 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law).<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The disqualification of a Member of Parliament (MP) in India is governed primarily by Article 102 of the Constitution, Representation of the People Act, 1951, along with the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law).<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Disqualification Under Article 102<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-05-2025\/disqualification-of-mps\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43110"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43121,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43110\/revisions\/43121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}