{"id":72230,"date":"2026-04-25T18:11:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=72230"},"modified":"2026-04-25T18:12:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:42:33","slug":"anti-defection-law-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/25-04-2026\/anti-defection-law-7","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Defection Law"},"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>More than two-thirds of the MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha have decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party, raising questions around the application of the anti-defection law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is the Anti-defection law<\/strong><strong>?<\/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\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\" class=\"wp-block-list has-background\">\n<li><strong>Constitutional Disqualifications <\/strong>[Articles 102(1) &amp; 191(1)]: A person shall be disqualified if he\/she:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Holds an office of profit under the Central or State Government;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is of unsound mind, as declared by a competent court;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is an undischarged insolvent;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is not a citizen of India, or has acquired citizenship of a foreign State, or shows allegiance to a foreign State;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is disqualified under any law made by Parliament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Features of the Anti-Defection Law&nbsp;<\/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-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dce6da\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"561\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-151-1024x561.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-72231\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dce6da; aspect-ratio:1.825342930870569;width:673px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-151-1024x561.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-151-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-151-768x420.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-151-1536x841.png 1536w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-151.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/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><strong>Delay in decision-making:<\/strong> In several cases (e.g., Karnataka, Manipur), decisions were delayed for <strong>months or even years<\/strong>, affecting government stability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Allegations of bias: <\/strong>The Presiding Officer (Speaker\/Chairman) is often from the ruling party, raising concerns of partisan decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited judicial intervention: <\/strong>Although judicial review is allowed (<em>Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu<\/em>), courts generally intervene <strong>only after the Speaker\u2019s decision<\/strong>, not during the process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Restriction on legislators\u2019 freedom: <\/strong>The law discourages MPs\/MLAs from voting independently, limiting <strong>freedom of speech and conscience<\/strong> in legislatures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rigid whip system: <\/strong>Party whips are issued even on non-critical issues, reducing scope for <strong>intra-party debate and dissent<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mass defections still possible: <\/strong>The <strong>two-thirds exception<\/strong> allows large-scale defections under the guise of \u201cmerger,\u201d weakening the law\u2019s intent. Bodies like the <strong>Law Commission (170th Report)<\/strong> and various scholars have argued that the law has <strong>failed to fully curb political defections<\/strong> and needs reform.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward&nbsp;<\/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<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/raghav-chadha-aap-mps-join-bjp\/article70901275.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nContext<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nMore than two-thirds of the MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha have decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party, raising questions around the application of the anti-defection law.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/p>\n<p>What is the Anti-defection law?<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\nAaya 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<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nThe anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule of the Constitution) was inserted by the 52nd Amendment in 1985 to prevent political defections.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/25-04-2026\/anti-defection-law-7 \" 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-72230","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\/72230","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=72230"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72233,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72230\/revisions\/72233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}