Sir,
Recently, the Speaker of the Meghalaya legislative Assembly has raised a very pertinent point by terming the resignation of elected legislators from a particular political party to join another and contest from the same constituency as “legalised defection”. The statement from a seasoned politician brings into focus the need for a relook at the provisions of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, commonly known as Anti-Defection law. This particular phenomenon though has no legal barrier and is not widespread as of date, being localised hitherto, mostly in the north east, is definitely reflecting ominous portends of spreading all over the country.
In light of the above, it is imperative that Constitution experts consider a review of the entire issue. In fact, the Supreme Court has also observed in a number of cases related to the 10th Schedule that what is Constitutionally permissible and what is outside is marked by a ‘hazy gray line’ and it is the court’s duty to identify, ‘darken and deepen’ the demarcating line of Constitutionality. Now, this issue calls for a national debate on the necessity of whether further amendment/addendum in relevant paragraph/s of the Tenth Schedule is necessary to subvert this growing trend, which today may appear as an exception but has the potential to become an established norm, however compelling the circumstances may be to elicit such an action.
There seems to be a considerable scope for judicial interpretation, one that may give further clarity on the law and may bring in a wider range of cases, defying the mandate of the electorate like contesting from multiple seats within the gamut of this legislation.
K Ravi, E-237, GGP Colony, Bhubaneswar-751025, Mob: 9437616497