Anti-defection law under Tenth Schedule (added by 52nd Amendment Act, 1985) aims to prevent legislators from switching parties
GK and monthly revision
Defections affect moral sanctity of democracy
The article highlights how political defections undermine democratic integrity by betraying voter mandates, emphasizing that voters — not opposition parties — are the primary victims. It critiques the anti-defection law's ineffectiveness in curbing opportunistic party-switching, which erodes accountability and legislative stability. The piece gains significance as debates intensify around strengthening the Tenth Schedule and Speaker's discretionary powers. For competitive exams, this connects directly to polity topics like constitutional provisions (Article 102, 191), anti-defection jurisprudence, and electoral reforms.
Source: The Hindu. This summary and analysis are AI-written from that report and are not individually fact-checked — confirm names, dates and figures with the source before you rely on them.
Revision structure
Monthly events and exam calendar context
Static GK and one-liner notes
Quiz and mock-test revision path
Key points
Exam-ready takeaways
Supreme Court in Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu (1992) upheld Speaker's power to decide disqualification but made it subject to judicial review
Recent defections in Maharashtra (2022), Goa (2022), and Karnataka (2019) exposed loopholes — mergers allowed if 2/3rd legislators agree
Election Commission recommended in 2015 that President/Governor decide disqualification on EC's binding advice, not Speaker
Law Commission (170th Report, 1999) suggested barring defectors from ministerial posts for remainder of term
How to study
Turn news into exam marks
Revise monthly events by exam family instead of reading random updates.
Pair one-liners with mock tests so mistakes become the next revision list.
Note which exams each story matters for, and revise it again in the week before that exam.