Amid reports of a growing dissident camp within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), a key question has come to the fore: can the party disqualify MPs who seek to form a separate group in the Lok Sabha? The short answer is no. Under India's anti-defection framework, a political party cannot directly remove elected MPs from Parliament. However, it can initiate proceedings that could eventually lead to their disqualification.
The authority to disqualify Members of Parliament under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution rests with the Lok Sabha Speaker, not with the political party concerned.
If TMC believes that rebel MPs have violated the anti-defection law, it can file a petition before the Speaker seeking their disqualification. The Speaker would then examine the facts and decide whether the lawmakers have incurred disqualification.
Any decision of the Speaker can subsequently be challenged before the courts.
The Tenth Schedule provides for disqualification if a legislator voluntarily gives up membership of a political party or defies the party whip in certain circumstances.
Importantly, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a member need not formally resign from a party to attract disqualification. Conduct indicating that the legislator has effectively abandoned the party can also be treated as "voluntarily giving up membership".
This means that actions such as publicly challenging the party's authority, claiming a separate identity or functioning independently could come under scrutiny if a disqualification petition is filed.
One of the most significant aspects of the current controversy is that the anti-defection law no longer recognises protection for a mere "split" within a political party.
The provision granting immunity to breakaway factions was removed through the 91st Constitutional Amendment in 2003. As a result, simply gathering a large number of MPs and forming a separate group does not automatically shield legislators from disqualification.
The only major exception available today relates to a merger. Under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule, at least two-thirds of members of a legislature party can avoid disqualification if their original political party merges with another political party.
Legal experts note that if rebel TMC MPs are only seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group, they may not automatically receive protection under the anti-defection law. TMC can petition the Speaker against them, but the final outcome would depend on whether their actions amount to defection under the Tenth Schedule and whether any constitutional exception applies.
In other words, TMC cannot itself disqualify rebel MPs. It can only set the legal process in motion, while the final decision rests with the Speaker and, potentially, the courts.
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