{"id":50095,"date":"2025-08-01T20:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=50095"},"modified":"2025-08-01T20:53:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:23:23","slug":"supreme-court-on-disqualification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-08-2025\/supreme-court-on-disqualification","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court on Anti-Defection Law\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court urged Parliament to reconsider its reliance on Assembly Speakers and Chairmen to fairly and promptly handle disqualification cases under the <strong>anti-defection law.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Court criticized delays and bias in such proceedings and directed the Telangana Speaker to decide long-pending disqualification petitions against 10 BRS MLAs who defected to the Congress in 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is the Anti-defection law?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aaya Ram Gaya Ram <\/strong>was a phrase that became popular in Indian politics after a Haryana MLA Gaya Lal changed his party thrice within the same day in 1967.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule of the Constitution) was inserted by the 52nd Amendment in 1985 to prevent political defections.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c5c4c4\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"896\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Supreme-Court-on-Anti-Defection-Law.png\" alt=\"Supreme Court on Anti-Defection Law \" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-50104\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c5c4c4; width:457px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Supreme-Court-on-Anti-Defection-Law.png 896w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Supreme-Court-on-Anti-Defection-Law-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Supreme-Court-on-Anti-Defection-Law-768x327.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 896px) 100vw, 896px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Features of the Anti-Defection Law<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Disqualification on ground of defection<\/strong>: A legislator belonging to a political party will be disqualified if he: (i) voluntarily gives up his party membership, or (ii) votes\/abstains to vote in the House contrary to the direction issued by his political party.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A member is not disqualified if he has taken prior permission of his party, or if the voting or abstention is condoned by the party within 15 days.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Independent members will be disqualified if they join a political party after getting elected to the House. Nominated members will be disqualified if they join any political party six months after getting nominated.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The decision to disqualify a member from the House <strong>rests with the Chairman\/Speaker of the House.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Exceptions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Tenth Schedule originally provided for<strong> two exceptions<\/strong> that would not render the members liable for disqualification.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>One-third members<\/strong> of the \u2018legislature party\u2019 split to form a separate group.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Merger of their \u2018political party\u2019 with another party that is approved by two-third members of its \u2018legislature party\u2019.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, the <strong>first exception (one-third split)<\/strong> was <strong>removed in 2003 to strengthen the law.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dce6db\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1922\" height=\"1052\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/objectives-of-anti-defection-law.png\" alt=\"objectives-of-anti-defection-law\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-50108\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dce6db; width:431px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/objectives-of-anti-defection-law.png 1922w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/objectives-of-anti-defection-law-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/objectives-of-anti-defection-law-1024x560.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/objectives-of-anti-defection-law-768x420.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/objectives-of-anti-defection-law-1536x841.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1922px) 100vw, 1922px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Supreme Court Judgments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1992): <\/strong>The decisions of the Speaker regarding disqualification under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-defection Law) are subject to judicial review by the High Courts and the Supreme Court.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Speaker, Manipur (2020):<\/strong> The Supreme Court set a clear outer limit of three months for the Speaker to decide on a disqualification petition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Issues and Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Speaker decides defection cases, often with no fixed timeline, leading to delays and <strong>potential bias.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Judicial review exists but courts are reluctant to intervene, citing legislative autonomy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is argued that\u00a0 the law curbs legislators\u2019 freedom of expression and debate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The whip system enforces rigid party control, leaving little room for intra-party debate or dissent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Anti-Defection Law has helped reduce political instability but suffers from implementation flaws and overreach, weakening its democratic purpose.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reforms are needed to balance party discipline with accountability, ensure unbiased adjudication, and promote internal party democracy to strengthen India\u2019s parliamentary system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Do you know?<\/strong><br>&#8211; The Representation of the People Act, 1951 governs elections in India and sets rules for qualifications, disqualifications, and election-related offences.\u00a0<br>&#8211; Disqualification of lawmakers is covered under Section 8.<br>1. <strong>Section 8(1) <\/strong>lists offences like promoting enmity, bribery, and electoral fraud.<br>2. <strong>Section 8(2) <\/strong>covers offences like hoarding, adulteration, and dowry-related crimes.<br>3. <strong>Section 8(3) <\/strong>disqualifies anyone convicted and sentenced to at least two years in prison, with disqualification lasting through the sentence and six years after release<br>4. Earlier, <strong>Section 8(4)<\/strong> allowed a three-month window to appeal before disqualification, but the <strong>Supreme Court struck it down in Lily Thomas v Union of India (2013),<\/strong> enabling immediate disqualification after conviction.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source :IE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><br><\/strong><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Supreme Court urged Parliament to reconsider its reliance on Assembly Speakers and Chairmen to fairly and promptly handle disqualification cases under the anti-defection law.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is the Anti-defection law?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Aaya Ram Gaya Ram was a phrase that became popular in Indian politics after a Haryana MLA Gaya Lal changed his party thrice within the same day in 1967.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule of the Constitution) was inserted by the 52nd Amendment in 1985 to prevent political defections.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-08-2025\/supreme-court-on-disqualification\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/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-50095","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\/50095","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=50095"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50164,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50095\/revisions\/50164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}