Essay on Anti Defection Law

The anti-defection law is contained in the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. It was enacted by Parliament in 1985. It came into effect on 1st March 1985. The seeds of the anti-defection law were sown after the general elections in 1967. For a long time, the Indian political scene was affected by political defections by members of the legislature. This situation brought about greater instability in the political system. The infamous “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram” slogan was coined against the background of continuous defections by the legislators. Legislators used to change parties frequently, bringing about chaos in the legislatures as governments fell. In this backdrop, P. Venkatasubbaiah, a Congress MP in Lok Sabha proposed the setting up of a high-level committee to make recommendations to tackle the “problem of legislators changing their allegiance from one party to another”.

The Lok Sabha agreed to the setting up of a committee to examine the problem of political defections. The then Home Minister, Y B Chavan, headed the committee. The panel defined defection — and an exception for genuine defectors. According to the Chavan Committee, defection was the voluntary giving up of allegiance of a political party on whose symbol a legislator was elected, except when such action was the result of the decision of the party.

In its report, the Chavan Committee noted “that the lure of office played a dominant part in decisions of legislators to defect”. It pointed out that out of 210 defecting legislators in seven states, 116 were given ministerial berths in governments which they helped form by their defections. To combat this, the Committee recommended a bar on defecting legislators from holding ministerial positions for a year or until the time they got themselves re-elected. It also suggested a smaller Council of Ministers both at the levels of the Centre and the States. The Committee was in favour of political parties working together to help evolve a code of conduct to effectively tackle disruptions.

THE TENTH SCHEDULE

The Bill to amend the Constitution was introduced by Rajiv Gandhi’s Law Minister Ashoke Kumar Sen. The statement of objects and reasons of the bill said: “The evil of political defections has been a matter of national concern. If it is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of our democracy and the principles which sustain it.

The amendment, by which the Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution, did three broad things. Firstly, it made legislators liable to be penalised for their conduct both inside (voting against the whip of the party) and outside (making speeches, etc.) the legislature. The penalty being the loss of their seats in Parliament or the state legislatures. Secondly, it protected legislators from disqualification in cases where there was a split (with 1/3rd of members splitting) or merger (with 2/3rds of members merging) of a legislature party with another political party. Thirdly, it made the Presiding Officer of the concerned legislature the sole arbiter of defection proceedings.

CHALLENGES

No sooner was the law put in place than political parties started to stress-test its boundaries. The issue of what constitutes a spilt in a political party rocked both the V P Singh and the Chandra Shekhar governments. The role of the Presiding Officers also became increasingly politicised. The intervention of the higher judiciary was sought to decide questions such as what kinds of conduct outside the legislature would fall in the category of defection, and what was the extent of the Speaker’s power in deciding defections. The Supreme Court, while upholding the supremacy of the Speaker in defection proceedings, also held that the Speaker’s decisions were subject to judicial review.

91ST CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ACT, 2003

A Constitutional amendment bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha to address deficiencies in the Tenth Schedule. A committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee examined the bill. The Committee observed: “The provision of split has been grossly misused to engineer multiple divisions in the party, as a result of which the evil of defection has not been checked in the right earnest. Further it is also observed that the lure of office of profit plays dominant part in the political horse-trading resulting in spate of defections and counter defections 

The one-third split provision which offered protection to defectors was deleted. Now only a merger of two-third members of a political party in the legislature with members of another political party in the legislature can take place. The amendment also limited the size of the Council of Ministers to fifteen per cent of the members of the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha, and preventing defecting legislators from joining the Council of Ministers until their re-election.

ABUSE OF THE LAW

Recent events in Karnataka and Goa have demonstrated, these amendments have had only limited impact. The removal of the split provision prompted political parties to engineer wholesale defections (to merge) instead of smaller ‘retail’ ones. Legislators started resigning from the membership of the House in order to escape disqualification from ministerial berths. The ceiling on the size of the Council of Ministers meant an increase in the number of positions of parliamentary secretaries in states.

The Speakers started taking an active interest in political matters, helping build and break governments. The anti-defection law does not specify a timeframe for Speakers to decide on defection proceedings. When the politics demanded, Speakers were either quick to pass judgment on defection proceedings or delayed acting on them for years on end. In Telangana, some members of the Congress legislature party became members of the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) without being disqualified on grounds of defection as the speaker delayed the defection proceedings.

ROLE OF THE SPEAKER

A Constitutional challenge to the Tenth Schedule was settled by the apex court in Kihoto Hollohan (1992) case involving the speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. The principal question before the Supreme Court in the case was whether the powerful role given to the Speaker violated the doctrine of Basic Structure i.e. certain basic features of the Constitution cannot be altered by amendments by Parliament, laid down in the landmark judgment in Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala (1973). The petitioners argued whether it was fair that the Speaker should have such broad powers, given that there is always a reasonable likelihood of bias. The Supreme Court stated that Schedule’s provisions were intended to strengthen the fabric of Indian Parliamentary democracy by curbing unprincipled and unethical political defections.

An independent adjudicatory machinery for resolving disputes relating to the competence of Members of the House is envisaged as an attribute of the democratic system which is a basic feature of our Constitution. The tenure of the Speaker, who is the authority in the Tenth Schedule to decide this dispute, is dependent on the continuous support of the majority in the House and, therefore, he does not satisfy the requirement of such an independent adjudicatory authority; and his choice as the sole arbiter in the matter violates an essential attribute of the basic feature. The Speaker’s decision disqualifying a Member of a House under paragraph 6(1) of the Tenth Schedule is not immune from judicial scrutiny. It is subject to judicial review by High Courts and the Supreme Court. 

REFORMS

The Anti-defection Law in India needs urgent reforms. Firstly, any member of the legislature who defects from one political party to another political party must not only be disqualified but also be barred from contesting election for the Lok Sabha or legislative assembly till its term expires. This can prevent defections and curb buying of MLAs in the event of hung assembly.

Secondly, a time frame of fifteen to thirty days must be provided for the Speaker to adjudicate on defection proceedings. The Speaker cannot be allowed to postpone indefinitely adjudication on defectors.

Thirdly, independent members must be allowed to join a political party within a time frame of six months. This will give political stability in the Lok Sabha or the state legislature, which will help in curbing defections from one party to another.

Fourthly, there should be a fixed time for conducting the floor test. A floor test is the determination on the floor of the House whether the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister commands the support of the majority of the MPs or the MLAs. This can be done necessarily by means of a recording the vote of each MP or MLA in the House. This determination of majority is done in a sitting of the legislature, for which the legislature has to be convened. There should be live telecast of the floor test and voting must be done by open ballot which will curb defection of MPs or MLAs to make it more transparent.

Essay on A Man is the Product of his Thoughts what he Thinks he Becomes
Essay on A New Assertion of Dalit Politics in India
Essay on A Problem of India: Lacking Toilets
Essay on Aatmanirbhar bharat Abhiyan
Essay on Achievements of UN over Past 70 Years its Relevance and Needed Reforms
Essay on Addiction
Essay on Advancement of Civilisation versus Cultural Declination
Essay on Advancement of Science versus Erosion of Human Values
Essay on Advantages and challenges with Direct Tax Code
Essay on Advantages of merging multiple labor laws into a single code
Essay on Adventure
Essay on Agri tourism in India potential and challenges
Essay on Agricultural Challenges to Overcome in India
Essay on Agriculture: Second Green Revolution
Essay on AIDS
Essay on Ambedkar Jayanti
Essay on Animals Deserve the Same Treatments as Human Beings
Essay on Anti Defection Law
Essay on Anti Leprosy Day
Essay on Are MNCs Harmful to the Economic Development of a Country
Essay on Arhar A Solution to Pollution
Essay on Army Day
Essay on Article 356 Use and Misuse
Essay on Article 370
Essay On Artificial Intelligence Is Not All Evil It Can Promote Social Good Too
Essay on Balochistan Carrot and Stick Policy or Simply a New Paradigm Shift in Indo Pak Relations
Essay on Banking Crisis In India
Essay on Being Proud to be Indians
Essay on Being You
Essay on Better Access is Important to Inclusive Cities
Essay on Boom of BPO in India
Essay on BRICS Summit Goa 2016 A Time to Recognise India
Essay on Can farm loan waivers be considered a good support system for farmers
Essay on Can India Become a Superpower by 2030
Essay on Central Excise Day
Essay on Challenging Cultural Values Affecting Food Security in India
Essay on Children Should Be Encouraged to Think Individually
Essay on Climate Change A Concern
Essay on Closely Knit Families Are Being Replaced by Nuclear Families
Essay on Commercial Surrogacy Boon or Bane
Essay on Communication Skills
Essay on Complete Capital account convertibility threats and opportunities for India
Essay on Complications of Adolescents in Indian Context
Essay on Concept of Cloning Human Beings for Replacement of Body Parts Scary but Not Fiction
Essay on Conservation of Natural Resources
Essay on Conservation of Nature
Essay on Corporate Governance in India
Essay on covid 19
Essay on Creation of Smaller States and the Following Administrative Economic and Developmental Implications
Essay on Credit Based Higher Education System Status Opportunities and Challenges
Essay on Crime Would Reduce with Harsher Punishments or Moral Teachings Do You Agree
Essay on Crisis of European Refugee
Essay on Customs and Traditions of Indian Culture
Essay on Cyber World: An Illusion
Essay on Dandi March Day
Essay on Decentralisation for Rural Development is the Way to Overcome Challenge
Essay on Deforestation A Road to Self destruction
Essay on Demographics of India
Essay on Dependence Not Inequality Is the Real Misfortune
Essay on Development And Climate Change
Essay on Digital Monopolies and The Erosion of Free Thought
Essay on Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme and Government Subsidies A Welfare Scheme for Underprivileged
Essay on Disability is Not Divinity
Essay on Discipline
Essay on Discipline is Success Anarchy is Ruin
Essay on Do you agree that To Keep Ganga Clean Puja should be Performed on the Bank of the River
Essay on Do You Agree That Violence on TV Directly Influences Childrens Behaviour
Essay on Does Indian Cinema Shape our Popular Culture or Merely Reflect it
Essay on Dos and Donts
Essay on Drought Management in India
Essay on Eastern Religions and Western Philosophy
Essay on Easy Way to Write an Essay
Essay on Economic implications of demographic dividend and demographic liability in India
Essay on Economic Slowdown in India
Essay on Effects of Uneven Distribution of Monsoon on Indian Economy
Essay on Efficient and Smart City A New World
Essay on Election Funding
Essay on Electrification of Rural India to Reduce Energy Poverty is Need of the Hour
Essay on Empowerment of Women in India
Essay on Environment and Human Health
Essay on Essay Writing
Essay on Ethics
Essay on Faith versus Reason
Essay on Food Processing Sector of India
Essay on For the ills of Democracy social movements may be the cure not revolutions
Essay on Forest
Essay on Formal Examinations versus Regular Assessment with Projects
Essay on Future of Smart Cities in India
Essay on GDP Gross Domestic Product Along With GDH Gross Domestic Happiness Would Be The Right Indices For Judging The Wellbeing Of A Country
Essay on Genetic Engineering has more Negative Impacts than Positive
Essay on Globalisation A Blessing or a Curse for a Developing Country
Essay on Globalisation and Its Impact on Indian Culture
Essay on Good Manners
Essay on Government should not Invest in Arts and Heritage this Investment should be Made in Public Services Do you agree
Essay on Green Bond A New Financial Tool
Essay on Green Revolution To Evergreen Revolution
Essay on Guidelines for Writing Appropriate Essays
Essay on Happiness
Essay on Happiness is when what you think what you say and what you do are in Harmony
Essay on Health
Essay on Health Education
Essay on Health and Fitness
Essay on Health is wealth Do we need to be rich to be healthy
Essay on Healthy Lifestyle
Essay on Hemis Gompa Festival
Essay on History Changes but Not Geography
Essay on HIV and Drug Abuse in India
Essay on Homes and Safety Norms in Indian Context
Essay on Honesty
Essay on How Can India Achieve The Target Of Becoming A $ 5 Trillion Economy By 2024
Essay on How Can India Meet Its Steep Employment Challenges To Ensure Consistent And Sustainable Economic Growth
Essay on How Can India Stop Migration Of People From Rural To Urban Areas
Essay on How can Indian banks tackle the developing NPA crisis
Essay on How Can The World Ensure Consistent Growth After Covid Crisis Is Over
Essay on How the newly launched PMKISAN scheme will help the farmers in India and what are the associated challenges
Essay on How to Write an Excellent Introduction and Conclusion
Essay on Human Rights Issues in India
Essay on Human or Technical Intelligence Which has more Importance in Combating Terrorism
Essay on Hyper globalism is threat to human prosperity
Essay on Hyper Globalism is Threat to Human Prosperity
Essay on I Object to The Violence Because When it Appears to Do Good The Good is Only Temporary The Evil it Does is Permanent
Essay on IAS Approach and Analysis
Essay on If Women Governed the World
Essay on If Youth Knew if Age Could
Essay on Impact of music in ones life
Essay on Impact of Oil Prices in World Politics and Indian Economy
Essay on Impact of the New Economic Measures on Fiscal Ties between the Union and the States in India
Essay on Impacts of Demonetisation
Essay on Importance of Good Manners in Life
Essay on Importance of India in Promoting ASEAN Cooperation
Essay on Importance of Yoga
Essay on India A Land of Young Talents and Few Innovations
Essay on India Africa Relations The New Dynamics
Essay on India and China The Management of Cross culture
Essay on India is an open and investment friendly economy
Essay on India Must Delink Classroom Teaching from Student Learning
Essay on Indian Judicial System
Essay on Indias Contribution to World Wisdom
Essay on Indias Problem of Slow Messy and Hidden Urbanisation
Essay on Indias Stand in the Suez Canal Crisis
Essay on Indias Struggle against Leprosy
Essay on Inequality Can Be Reduced By The Power Of The Market Rather Than The Government
Essay on Inflation A Major Outcome of Covid Relief Measures Is A Man Made Problem
Essay on International Customs Day
Essay on International Day of Education
Essay on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Essay on International Day of Forests
Essay on International Day of Happiness
Essay on International Day of Women and Girls in science
Essay on International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
Essay on International Mother Language Day
Essay on International Womens Day
Essay on Interrelationship of Good Fences with Good Neighbours
Essay on Investment in Private Sector in India Future Road Ahead
Essay on Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Essay on Judicial Activism Hope of Justice for the Underprivileged Section
Essay on Judicial Activism and Indian Democracy
Essay on Judiciary vs Executive A Conflict in Appointment of Judges
Essay on Junk Food
Essay on Justice Must Reach the Poor
Essay on Kindness
Essay on KSA and its Importance in the USA
Essay on Labour Issues in India
Essay on Love in a Glass Jar
Essay on Lure of Space Unveiling the Obscure
Essay on Machine Translation Is Slower and Less Accurate than Human Translation
Essay on Make in India A Giants Step to Promote Manufacturing
Essay on Mars Orbiter Mission
Essay on Martyrs Day
Essay on Martyrs Day
Essay on Mass Media versus Cultural Invasion
Essay on Messy Urbanisation Poses Challenge to India
Essay on Miseries of Contract Labour
Essay on Mobile Phone
Essay on Moral Values
Essay on my Duty towards my Country
Essay on My Garden
Essay on National Deworming Day
Essay on National Girl Child Day
Essay on National Register of Citizens NRC
Essay on National Safety Day
Essay on National Science Day
Essay on National Youth Day
Essay on Natural Resources
Essay on Natural Resources Depletion
Essay on Nature
Essay on Nature and Climate Change
Essay on Need of Referendum and Initiative in Our Democracy
Essay on Need Of The Hour Is To Maximise Possibilities Of Agriculture In India
Essay on Need Of The Hour Is To Maximise Possibilities Of Agriculture In India
Essay on Net Neutrality
Essay on New Education policy 2020
Essay on NPAs The Bane of Indian Banking Sector
Essay on Number of old age homes are increasing
Essay on Obesity
Essay on Oil and Gas Conservation Week and Fortnight
Essay on Old Age Problem and Our Responsibility towards Old Age
Essay on Ordnance Factories Day
Essay on Our Traditional Handicrafts Are Doomed to a Slow Death A Comment 
Essay on Passive Smoking Harms More
Essay on Pin Code Week
Essay on PPP Model of Infrastructure Development and Its Viability
Essay on Pravasi Bhartiya Divas
Essay on Prevention of Blindness Week
Essay on Pros And Cons Of The Tour Of Duty Three Years Short Service Scheme Launched By India
Essay on Punctuality
Essay on Rain Forests Have Vital Role in the Ecosystem of the Earth
Essay on Rainy Day
Essay on Rainy Season
Essay on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership RCEP
Essay on Religion and its Humanist Face
Essay on Religious Neutrality An Accepted Behavioural Script
Essay on Republic Day of India
Essay on Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
Essay on Road Safety Week
Essay on Role of BRICS In Todays World
Essay on Role of Media in Good Governance
Essay on Role of NGOs in Indias Development
Essay on Rural Tourism in India steps required and expected benefits
Essay on Rural Uplift Programme in India
Essay on Sant Ravidas Jayanti
Essay on Save Water Save Earth
Essay on Save Water Save Life
Essay on Science and Religion
Essay on Seasons in India
Essay on Section 377 of IPC and its Constitutionality
Essay on Secularism Opposes All Forms of Inter Religious Supremacy
Essay on Sedentary Lifestyle The Cause of Health Problems
Essay on Should Rich Countries Provide Loans to Poor Countries without any Interest
Essay on Significance of NAM in Todays World
Essay on Social Activism Is a Key to Survival of Indian Democracy
Essay on Spring Season
Essay on State of Mental Illness in India
Essay on Status of Democracy in India
Essay on Strategy for Writing Excellent Essays
Essay on Stress A Major Concern of the World
Essay on Subhas Chandra Bose Birthday
Essay on Suicide in Youths and Reason behind it
Essay on Summer Season
Essay on Sustainable Development during Climate Change
Essay on Sustained Economic Development Role of Ecology and Environment
Essay on Tackling Hunger Globally is Need of the Hour
Essay on Technological Education and Human Values
Essay on Terrorism and World Peace
Essay on The Building Blocks of Our Society are Paid Peanuts
Essay on The Composite Culture of India is Captivating
Essay on The Culture of the Younger Generation
Essay on The Developmental Challenges in Rural India
Essay on The Dynamics of Changing Rural Economy in 21st Century
Essay on The Focus Of Healthcare Is Increasingly Getting Skewed Towards The Haves Of Our Society
Essay on The Masks of new Imperialism
Essay on The Paths of Glory Lead but to the Grave
Essay on The significance of the New Urban Agenda for India
Essay on The Weak can Never Forgive Forgiveness is the Attribute of the Strong
Essay on The Work and Work Culture Have Changed with the Emergence of Information Technology
Essay on There is Nothing Either Good or Bad but Thinking Makes it so
Essay on Time
Essay on Time Management
Essay on Tolerance of Dissent is the Base of Democracy
Essay on Tools and Techniques
Essay on Traffic Rules
Essay on Transparency in Public Administration
Essay on Triple Talaq
Essay on True Religion Cannot be Misused
Essay on Types and Formats
Essay on Underemployment And Unemployment
Essay on United We Stand Divided We Fall
Essay on Unity is Strength
Essay on Universal Healthcare for Citizens of India
Essay on Urbanisation and its Menaces
Essay on Valentines Day
Essay on Value of Time
Essay on Values
Essay on Water
Essay on What Are The Expected Advantages And Threats Of Digital Currencies For India
Essay on What Are The Reasons Behind High Unemployment Rate In India Coupled With Reducing Labour Force Participation Rate
Essay on What Are The Reasons Behind NBFC Crisis In India And How Can It Be Resolved
Essay on What steps are required to make electric vehicles a reality
Essay on What steps can India take to replace China as the manufacturing powerhouse of the world
Essay on What steps can the government take to reduce Fiscal & revenue deficit while ensuring enough Investment for development and growth
Essay on Where there is a will there is a way
Essay on Why should India be given a permanent seat in United Nations Security Council
Essay on Winter Season
Essay on With Universal Banking Banks of the modern era are emerging into too big to fail Discuss the pros and cons of this emergence
Essay on Women Delicate or Strong
Essay on Women Need More than Empowerment
Essay on Womens Depiction in Advertisements Gender Bias or Mean Attitude of the Society
Essay on Work is Worship
Essay on World Book Day
Essay on World Cancer Day
Essay on World Day of Social Justice
Essay on World Down Syndrome Day
Essay on World Earth Day
Essay on World Forestry Day
Essay on World Health Day
Essay on World Hemophilia Day
Essay on World Kidney Day
Essay on World Meteorological Day
Essay on World Poetry Day
Essay on World Radio Day
Essay on World TB Day
Essay on World Water Day
Essay on World Wetlands Day
Essay on World Wildlife Day
Essay on WPI and CPI
Essay on Yoga
Essay on Your Identity is Your Attitude
Essay on Zero Discrimination Day