Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law)
The Tenth Schedule was inserted into the Constitution by the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985, to curb political defection by legislators for personal gain and to bring stability to elected governments. It lays down the grounds on which a Member of a House can be disqualified for defection and designates the Speaker/Chairman as the deciding authority.
- Two principal grounds for disqualification: (a) voluntarily giving up membership of the party that set up the member as a candidate, and (b) voting or abstaining from voting in the House contrary to a party whip, without prior condonation.
- The 91st Amendment Act, 2003 removed the earlier "split" exception (which had protected a breakaway group of one-third of a party's members) and now requires two-thirds of a party's legislators to merge with another party for the merger exception to apply.
- Article 102(2) governs disqualification of MPs and Article 191(2) governs disqualification of MLAs on grounds specified in the Tenth Schedule.
- The Speaker/Chairman's decision on a defection question is final, subject to judicial review, as established by the Supreme Court.
● Tracked since June 11, 2026 · last seen August 26, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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