RAS question
Who has the final authority to decide cases of disqualification under the 10th Schedule (Anti-Defection Law)?
Correct answer: (B) The Chairman/Speaker of the respective House.
Under paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule, disqualification questions on the ground of defection are decided by the Chairman or Speaker of the respective House.
Explanation
Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule gives the Chairman or Speaker of the House the authority to decide whether a member has become disqualified on the ground of defection. The presiding officer of the relevant House is therefore the final institutional deciding authority under the Anti-Defection Law. The important qualification is judicial review: in Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1992), the Supreme Court held that the Speaker's decision is subject to review by the courts. So the Tenth Schedule does not make the Supreme Court, Election Commission or President the primary deciding authority; it places the decision with the House's Chairman or Speaker, with judicial scrutiny available afterwards.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Supreme Court can review a Speaker's decision under Kihoto Hollohan, but paragraph 6 gives the deciding authority to the Chairman or Speaker of the House.
- (C) The Election Commission deals with disqualification questions under the Representation of the People Act, not defection-based disqualification under the Tenth Schedule.
- (D) The President decides disqualification questions under Article 103, while Tenth Schedule defection questions are decided by the Chairman or Speaker of the House.
Concept
The Anti-Defection Law turns on the distinction between the constitutional deciding authority and later judicial review. It recurs in RAS because legislative disqualification and Speaker powers sit at the centre of Indian polity questions.