Anti-defection law (India)

Defection by legislators occurs in many democracies. It can be argued that they can undermine the stability of the cabinet, which is dependent on the support of elected legislators. The argument follows that such instability can amount to a betrayal of the people's mandate, as voiced at the most recent prior election.

Before the introduction of the anti-defection law, the election of both the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers of some of its states and territories had experienced instances of perceived uncertainty resulting from legislators changing their political allegiance. It may be noted that the 'Political Party' was not a recognised word in the Constitution of India at that time. By one estimate, almost 50 percent of the 4,000 legislators elected to central and federal parliaments in the 1967 and 1971 general elections subsequently defected, leading to political turmoil in the country.

The law was sought to limit such defections in India. In 1985, the Tenth Schedule of the 52nd Amendment to the Constitution of India was passed by the Parliament of India to achieve this, which resulted in the introduction of the new word 'Political Party' in the Constitution of India. Thus, political parties got recognition in the Constitution.

Following recommendations from many constitutional bodies, Parliament in 2003 passed the Ninety-first Amendment to the Constitution of India. This strengthened the act by adding provisions for the disqualification of defectors and banning them from being appointed as ministers for a period of time.