Expelled Samajwadi Party MPs Jaya Prada, Amar Singh to set a legal precedent

Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and his protege Jaya Prada have become a catalyst for a re-look into the anti-defection law, the rules governing disqualification of MPs for floor-crossing, by the Supreme Court.

The Rajiv Gandhi government had introduced the law as several defections were witnessed in the 1980s. It was aimed at bringing stability to the structure of political parties and strengthen parliamentary democracy by prohibiting defections. On February 2, 2010, Rajya Sabha MP Singh and Rampur MP Jaya prada were expelled from SP for anti-party activities. Giving them relief, the SC on November 16, 2010 ruled that no action should be taken against them under the anti-defection law.

The bench then referred to a constitution bench the question as to whether an expelled member could be disqualified under the law, if she/he chooses to defy a party whip. The matter has been listed for hearing on Friday. The prime question for consideration will be - can anti-defection law be evoked only against those who either defect from the party or defy its whip while being in the party? Will it be applicable to someone who has been expelled?

Singh and Jaya Prada had sought an interim stay on any possible action against them over voting in the women's reservation Bill, to which their erstwhile party, SP, is fiercely opposed to. They feared they may be disqualified for not abiding by the party whip in Parliament in view of the apex court verdict in G Viswanathan's case in 1996.

As per the interpretation of the anti-defection law by the Supreme Court in that case, a member elected or nominated by a political party continues to be under its control even after his or her expulsion.

Harish Salve and KK Venugopal, the senior counsel for the two ex-MPs, had argued that the antidefection law could be evoked only against those who either defect from the party or defy its whip while being in the party.

But, in their case, they contended, the MPs did not defect from the party but were expelled, and as unattached members, they were not amenable to the party's whip. They also pled before the Supreme Court that the provisions of the Tenth Schedule, which deals with disqualification of MPs, are not applicable to the expelled members of a political party.

They had submitted that the Viswanathan case ruling had also led to an anomalous situation where a party makes its expelled member abide by its whip even after expelling him or her from the party and the failure to adhere to such whip results in disqualification of the expelled member from the House.

Also read: Amar Singh is a daga kartoos, not returning to Samajwadi Party, says Azam Khan