Anti-Defection Law is a law in India which was passed by the Parliament in 1985. The law lays down the process by which legislators can be disqualified on the grounds of defection from their political parties. The law applies to both members of the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) and the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament). The Anti-Defection Law was passed to curb "political defections", which refers to the act of changing party allegiance by an elected representative before the end of their term. The law aims to ensure that legislators do not change their party affiliation for personal gain or in order to bring down a government.
The grounds of anti-defection are specified in the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. They are:
A member voluntarily resigns from his party.
A member votes or abstains from voting in the House against the direction of his party and without obtaining prior permission from his party whip.
A member who has been elected as an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
A nominated member who is not a member of any party joins a political party within six months of his nomination.
A party merges with another party and the member chooses to join the merged party or decides to opt-out and maintain his independent status.
If any of these grounds are established by a member of a legislative house, he or she may be disqualified from being a member of that house.
