sibal: SC agrees to hear Kapil Sibal’s plea on anti-defection law merger clause

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea by independent Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal seeking reconsideration of the interpretation of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which allows MLAs and MPs to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law for alleged merger with another political party.

Issuing a notice to the Centre, a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe observed that there are various issues that need to be addressed by Parliament.

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Sibal said this issue has “huge repercussions on our politics” as the minority party can become the majority and the majority the minority due to the regulation.

The Board said that the Tenth Program for MPs had been passed by the Parliament and it was up to them to devise a mechanism.

Sibal said there was a similar matter pending in court regarding MLAs’ departure from Goa. The bench then tagged the defense along with the Goa issue.
Also Read: ‘Withdraw posts or face action’: Kapil Sibal slams DU and JNU VCs for ‘threatening’ studentsSibal filed the defense in his personal capacity and sought interpretation of the law. On 22 July he had requested an urgent list of his arguments, saying that it concerned the question of whether the composition of Parliament would change as it had in this country, and the interpretation of the fourth paragraph of the Tenth Schedule in that context.

The plea comes against the backdrop of MPs from AAP, Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) joining the ruling BJP and other political parties by invoking merger provisions under the Tenth Schedule.