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The Public Interest Litigation has been filed by one Minakshi Menon, founder of the NGO Vanshakti, who has sought directions to be issued by the court to disallow the lawmakers that have defected from holding any constitutional posts
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Bombay High Court, seeking to declare para 4 of Schedule 10 of the Constitution of India as ultra vires, asserting that it violates the fundamental structure of the Constitution by exempting lawmakers from disqualification upon merging with another political party.
Meenakshi Menon, the founder of NGO Vanshakti, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions from the court to prevent lawmakers who have defected from holding any constitutional posts or participating in legislative proceedings until their defection case is resolved.
The petition states that voters have become mere spectators with a sense of disillusionment with the system when legislators merge with other political parties.
“The money changing hands have immensely increased and it has led to more political instability. It is pathetic to see that the legislatures are being traded like stock of share market which reduces the democracy without democratic value and culture to a hypocrisy. Poor voters have no say. They are mere silent spectator with a sense disillusionment with system. How under the law legislators can be allowed to do collectively which they are not allowed to individually? This goes against the legislative intent behind anti-defection,” the plea states.
The petition also cites the 170th Report of the Law Commission from 1999, which recommends the removal of the provision allowing exceptions for split and mergers from disqualification regulations.
Moreover, the PIL highlights that there is no specified time frame for resolving disqualification proceedings against legislators. This absence has led to the Speaker's role becoming increasingly political, resulting in either immediate disqualification decisions or indefinite delays, depending on the former political affiliation of the Speaker's party.
Menon in the plea added that the defections in the form of split and merger under para 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the constitution are leading to further alienation of the general public to the process of elections itself wherein thousands of crores of taxpayer's money are spent without any accountability.
Furthermore, it stated that unabated group defections in the form of splits and mergers under para 4 of the Tenth Schedule of the constitution have become part of political culture with complete disregard to the act of betrayal voters at large are going through who vote for their political ideology and manifesto.
Case title: Meenakshi Menon vs UOI
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