Qualifications for Membership of State Legislature

MLA MLC qualifications are laid down in Article 173 of the Constitution, which sets out the minimum conditions a person must satisfy before being chosen to fill a seat in either House of a state legislature. These are eligibility conditions to be validly elected in the first place, distinct from the disqualifications that can later remove a sitting member. Article 173 combines constitutional requirements with a residual power for Parliament to prescribe further conditions by law.

Citizenship and the Oath of Allegiance

Under Article 173(a), a person must be a citizen of India, and must make and subscribe an oath or affirmation before a person authorised by the Election Commission for that purpose. The form of this oath is set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution, and in it the candidate swears to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India and to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India. A person who sits or votes in either House without having taken this oath, or while otherwise not qualified or disqualified, is liable to a penalty for each day of unlawfully sitting or voting.

Minimum Age

Article 173 fixes different minimum ages for the two Houses. A candidate for the Legislative Assembly (an MLA) must be at least 25 years of age, while a candidate for the Legislative Council (an MLC) must be at least 30 years of age. This gap of five years follows the same logic as the corresponding age requirements for the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha at the Union level, treating the upper, more indirectly composed House as calling for a somewhat more senior candidate.

Other Qualifications Prescribed by Parliament

Beyond citizenship, the oath, and age, Article 173 leaves Parliament free to prescribe such other qualifications as it thinks fit by law. Exercising this power, Parliament has laid down further conditions through the Representation of the People Act, 1951 — most notably that a candidate must be an elector for some assembly constituency in the state concerned. These statutory qualifications operate alongside, and in addition to, the three constitutional requirements, and Parliament can amend or add to them by ordinary legislation without a constitutional amendment.

Qualifications Are Not the Same as Disqualifications

Article 173 tells a person what is required to be validly chosen; it is a separate provision, Article 191, that lists grounds — such as holding an office of profit, unsound mind, insolvency, or loss of citizenship — on which a person is barred from being chosen or continuing as a member. Meeting the Article 173 qualifications does not by itself guarantee eligibility if one of the separate disqualifications applies; the two sets of conditions must both be satisfied.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 173's three heads: citizenship, the Third Schedule oath, and minimum age.
• Minimum age: 25 years for the Legislative Assembly, 30 years for the Legislative Council.
• The Third Schedule oath's content: allegiance to the Constitution, upholding sovereignty and integrity of India.
• Parliament's power to prescribe further qualifications, exercised through the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Mains

• Distinguish between the constitutional qualifications for membership of a state legislature under Article 173 and the disqualifications under Article 191, and explain why this distinction matters procedurally.
• Examine the rationale for prescribing a higher minimum age for the Legislative Council than for the Legislative Assembly.

FAQ

Q1. What are the three qualifications set out in Article 173? Citizenship of India, taking the prescribed oath or affirmation under the Third Schedule, and meeting the minimum age requirement.

Q2. What is the minimum age for an MLA and an MLC? 25 years for membership of the Legislative Assembly and 30 years for membership of the Legislative Council.

Q3. What does the Third Schedule oath require a candidate to swear? To bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India and to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India.

Q4. Can Parliament add further qualifications beyond those in Article 173? Yes. Article 173 allows Parliament to prescribe other qualifications by law; it has done so through the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which requires a candidate to be an elector for an assembly constituency in the state.

Q5. Are qualifications and disqualifications the same thing? No. Qualifications under Article 173 are the conditions needed to be validly chosen as a member; disqualifications under Article 191 are separate grounds — such as holding an office of profit or unsound mind — that bar or remove a person regardless of qualifications being met.

Quick Revision

• Article 173: citizenship, Third Schedule oath, and minimum age are the three qualifications for state legislature membership.
• Minimum age: 25 years for the Assembly (MLA), 30 years for the Council (MLC).
• Oath content: allegiance to the Constitution, upholding India's sovereignty and integrity.
• Parliament may add qualifications by law; Representation of the People Act, 1951 requires being an elector in the state.
• Qualifications (Article 173) and disqualifications (Article 191) are distinct and both must be satisfied.

Sources

• Constitution of India, Article 173 and the Third Schedule — legislative.gov.in
• Representation of the People Act, 1951 — legislative.gov.in

Further Reference

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

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