Disqualification of MPs and MLAs
The Constitution lists reasons that stop a person from being, or staying, a member of Parliament or a state legislature.
What the paper can ask
- Article 102 covers both Houses of Parliament; Article 191 covers state Assemblies and Councils.
- Article 102(1) has five grounds, including being of unsound mind (only if a competent court has declared it), being an undischarged insolvent, and not being a citizen or owing allegiance to a foreign state.
- Article 102(1)(e) lets Parliament add grounds by law; Article 102(2) adds disqualification under the Tenth Schedule.
- One law made by Parliament under this power is the Representation of the People Act 1951, whose Section 8(3) disqualifies a person convicted and sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more.
Latest
Article 102(1)(a) also lists holding an office of profit under the Union or a state government, unless a law of Parliament exempts that office; a Minister is not treated as holding an office of profit by that fact alone. In Lily Thomas v. Union of India (10 July 2013) the Supreme Court struck down Section 8(4) of the 1951 Act, so a sitting MP or MLA sentenced to two years or more is disqualified at once.
Why exams ask
Setters ask which grounds are in Article 102, how Article 191 differs, how the Tenth Schedule fits in, and the Lily Thomas ruling.
The full story
Article 102 is the list for Parliament and Article 191 is the matching list for state legislatures. A person who falls under any ground cannot be chosen as a member and loses the seat if already one. The Tenth Schedule (the anti-defection law) adds another route through clause (2).
Test yourself
1.Under Article 102, a person is disqualified for membership of Parliament if he
Correct. Article 102(1)(a) lists office of profit; also unsound mind, undischarged insolvency, foreign citizenship and disqualification under a law of Parliament; 102(2) adds the Tenth Schedule.
Not quite. Article 102(1)(a) lists office of profit; also unsound mind, undischarged insolvency, foreign citizenship and disqualification under a law of Parliament; 102(2) adds the Tenth Schedule. It goes into your error book.