Disqualifications for Membership of State Legislature (including Defection)

Disqualifications for membership of State Legislature are set out in Article 191 of the Constitution, which bars certain categories of persons from being chosen as, or continuing as, a member of a State's Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council, and — through clause (2) — extends disqualification to members who defect under the rules of the Tenth Schedule.

Constitutional Basis: Article 191(1)

Article 191(1) disqualifies a person for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council of a State on five grounds: (a) holding an office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any state, unless the State Legislature has by law declared that office not to disqualify its holder; (b) being of unsound mind and so declared by a competent court; (c) being an undischarged insolvent; (d) not being a citizen of India, or having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state, or being under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign state; and (e) being disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.

The Office-of-Profit Exception

The Constitution itself allows the State Legislature to exempt particular offices from the office-of-profit bar by declaring, through its own law, that holding such an office will not disqualify its holder. States accordingly maintain their own lists of exempted offices, allowing legislators to hold certain positions — for example on government committees or boards — without losing their seat.

Disqualification on the Ground of Defection: Article 191(2) and the Tenth Schedule

Article 191(2) adds a further, distinct ground: a person is disqualified for being a member of a State Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council if he or she is disqualified under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution — the anti-defection law inserted by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985. Under the Tenth Schedule, a member is disqualified on defection if he or she voluntarily gives up membership of the political party on whose ticket the seat was won, or votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to a direction (whip) issued by that party, without prior permission, unless the party condones the act within fifteen days. The Tenth Schedule also disqualifies an independent member who joins a political party after election, and a nominated member who joins a party after six months of taking his or her seat, if not already a member of the House.

An important refinement came with the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, which removed the earlier protection available to a group representing one-third of a party's legislators who broke away (the "split" exception). Since then, defection by an individual or a group is protected from disqualification only where it amounts to a genuine merger — broadly, where two-thirds of the members of a legislature party agree to merge with another party.

Why Two Distinct Grounds Matter

Article 191(1) addresses eligibility in the ordinary constitutional sense — citizenship, soundness of mind, solvency, and conflicts of interest through offices of profit. Article 191(2), by contrast, is a political-conduct rule aimed specifically at legislators who defect from the party that got them elected, reflecting Parliament's later judgment that party-hopping undermines the stability of elected governments and the mandate given by voters.

Comparable Provision at the Union Level

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• The five grounds of disqualification under Article 191(1) and the office-of-profit exception the State Legislature may create by law.
• Article 191(2) linking disqualification to the Tenth Schedule, and the year and amendment (52nd Amendment, 1985) that introduced it.
• The effect of the 91st Amendment, 2003 in removing the one-third split protection and retaining only the two-thirds merger exception.

Mains

• The rationale for the anti-defection law and its impact on legislative discipline versus the independence of individual legislators.
• Distinction between ordinary constitutional disqualification (Article 191(1)) and disqualification for political conduct under the Tenth Schedule (Article 191(2)).

FAQ

Q1. What are the grounds of disqualification under Article 191(1)? Office of profit (unless exempted by state law), unsound mind, undischarged insolvency, not being an Indian citizen or owing allegiance to a foreign state, and disqualification under a law made by Parliament.

Q2. How does defection lead to disqualification? Article 191(2) disqualifies a member under the Tenth Schedule if he or she voluntarily gives up party membership or votes against a party whip without permission or condonation.

Q3. Can a State Legislature exempt an office from the office-of-profit disqualification? Yes. Article 191(1)(a) allows the State Legislature to declare, by law, that a particular office will not disqualify its holder.

Q4. Does an independent MLA who joins a party after election get disqualified? Yes, under the Tenth Schedule, an independent member who joins a political party after being elected is disqualified on that ground.

Q5. Is there still protection for a group of legislators who split from their party? No. The 91st Amendment, 2003 removed the one-third split protection; only a genuine two-thirds merger with another party is now protected from disqualification.

Quick Revision

• Article 191(1): five grounds — office of profit, unsound mind, insolvency, citizenship, law made by Parliament.
• State Legislature can exempt offices from the office-of-profit bar by law.
• Article 191(2): disqualification under the Tenth Schedule (defection) — added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985.
• 91st Amendment, 2003 removed the one-third split exception; only two-thirds merger is protected.
• Article 191 for states mirrors Article 102 for Parliament.

Sources

• The Constitution of India — Ministry of Law and Justice
• India Code — Constitution of India

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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