INDIAN CONSTITUTION
TENTH SCHEDULE
Articles 102 ( 2 ) and 191 ( 2 ) Provisions as to disqualification on ground of defection
1. Interpretation In this Schedule, unless the context otherwise requires,
(a) House means either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assembly or, as the case may be, either House of the Legislature of a State;
(b) legislature party, in relation to a member of a House belonging to any political party in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 or paragraph 3 or, as the case may be, paragraph 4, means the group consisting of all the members of that House for the time being belonging to that political party in accordance with the said provisions;
(c) original political party, in relation to a member of a House, means the political party to which he belongs for the purposes of sub paragraph ( 1 ) of paragraph 2;
(d) paragraph means a paragraph of this Schedule
2. Disqualification on ground of defection
(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, a member of a House belonging to any political party shall be disqualified for being a member of the House
(a) if he has voluntarily gives up his membership of such political party; or
(b) if he votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by the political party to which he belongs or by any person or authority authorised by it in this behalf, without obtaining, in either case, the prior permission of such political party, person or authority and such voting or abstention has not been condoned by such political party, person or authority within fifteen days from the date of such voting or abstention Explanation For the purposes of this sub paragraph,
(a) an elected member of a House shall be deemed to belong to the political party, if any, by which he was set up as a candidate for election as such member;
(b) a nominated member of a House shall,
(i) where he is a member of any political party on the date of his nomination as such member, be deemed to belong to such political party;
(ii) in any other case, be deemed to belong to the political party of which he becomes, or, as the case may be, first becomes a member before the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat after complying with the requirements of article 99 or, as the case may be, article 188
(2) An elected member of a House who has been elected as such otherwise than as a candidate set up by any political party shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he joins any political party after such election
(3) A nominated member of a House shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat after complying with the requirements of article 99 or, as the case may be, article 188
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, a person who, on the commencement of the Constitution (Fifty second Amendment) Act, 1985 , is a member of a House (whether elected or nominated as such) shall,
(i) where he was a member of political party immediately before such commencement, be deemed, for the purposes of sub paragraph ( 1 ) of this paragraph, to have been elected as a member of such House as a candidate set up by such political party;
542503 ii in any other case, be deemed to be an elected member of the House who has been elected as such otherwise than as a candidate set up by any political party for the purposes of sub paragraph ( 2 ) of this paragraph or, as the case may be, deemed to be a nominated member of the House for the purposes of sub paragraph ( 3 ) of this paragraph
3. Disqualification on ground of defection not to apply in case of split Where a member of a House makes a claim that he and any other members of his legislature party constitute the group representing a faction which has arisen as a result of a split in his original political party and such group consists of not less than one third of the members of such legislature party,
(a) he shall not be disqualified under sub paragraph ( 1 ) of paragraph 2 on the ground
(i) that he has voluntarily given up his membership of his original political party; or
(ii) that he has voted or abstained from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by such party or by any person or authority authorised by it in that behalf without obtaining the prior permission of such party, person or authority and such voting or abstention has not been condoned by such party, person or authority within fifteen days from the date of such voting or abstention; and
(b) from the time of such split, such faction shall be deemed to be the political party to which he belongs for the purposes of sub paragraph ( 1 ) of paragraph 2 and to be his original political party for the purposes of this paragraph
4. Disqualification on ground of defection not to apply in case of merger ( 1 ) A member of a House shall not be disqualified under sub paragraph ( 1 ) of paragraph 2 where his original political party merges with another political party and he claims that he and any other members of his original political party
(a) have become members of such other political party or, as the case may be, of a new political party formed by such merger; or
(b) have not accepted the merger and opted to function as a separate group, and from the time of such merger, such other political party or new political party or group, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the political party to which he belongs for the purposes of sub paragraph ( 1 ) of paragraph 2 and to be his original political party for the purposes of this sub paragraph
5. Exemption Notwithstanding anything contained in this Schedule, a person who has been elected to the office of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People or the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States or the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council of a State or the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a State, shall not be disqualified under this Schedule,
(a) if he, by reason of his election to such office, voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party to which he belonged immediately before such election and does not, so long as he continues to hold such office thereafter, rejoin that political party or become a member of another political party; or
(b) if he, having given up by reason of his election to such office his membership of the political party to which he belonged immediately before such election, rejoins such political party after he ceases to hold such office
6. Decision on questions as to disqualification on ground of defection ( 1 ) If any question arises as to whether a member of a House has become subject to disqualification under this Schedule, the question shall be referred for the decision of the Chairman or, as the case may be, the Speaker of such House and his decision shall be final: Provided that where the question which has arisen is as to whether the Chairman or the Speaker of a House has become subject to such disqualification, the question shall be referred for the decision of such member of the House as the House may elect in this behalf and his decision shall be final
(2) All proceedings under sub paragraph ( 1 ) of this paragraph in relation to any question as to disqualification of a member of a House under this Schedule shall be deemed to be proceedings in Parliament within the meaning of article 122 or, as the case may be, proceedings in the Legislature of a State within the meaning of article 212
7. Bar of jurisdiction of courts Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, no court shall have any jurisdiction in respect of any matter connected with the disqualification of a member of a House under this Schedule
8. Rules ( 1 ) Subject to the provisions of sub paragraph ( 2 ) of this paragraph, the Chairman or the Speaker of a House may make rules for giving effect to the provisions of this Schedule, and in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such rules may provide for
(a) the maintenance of registers or other records as to the political parties if any, to which different members of the House belong;
(b) the report which the leader of a legislature party in relation to a member of a House shall furnish with regard to any condonation of the nature referred to in clause (b) of sub paragraph ( 1 ) of paragraph 2 in respect of such member, the time within which and the authority to whom such report shall be furnished;
(c) the reports which a political party shall furnish with regard to admission to such political party of any members of the House and the officer of the House to whom such reports shall be furnished; and
(d) the procedure for deciding any question referred to in sub paragraph ( 1 ) of paragraph 6 including the procedure for any inquiry which may be made for the purpose of deciding such question
1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension
2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land consolidation and soil conservation
3. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development
4. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry
5. Fisheries
6. Social forestry and farm forestry
7. Minor forest produce
8. Small scale industries, including food processing industries
9. Khadi, village and cottage industries
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15. Non conventional energy sources
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27. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
28. Public distribution system
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