SC Agrees to Consider Kapil Sibal’s Plea on Political Defections and Party Mergers

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea filed by independent Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal seeking reconsideration of the interpretation of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with the anti-defection law.

A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe issued notice to the Centre on Sibal's plea. During the hearing, the bench observed that the matter involved several issues that may require consideration and action by Parliament.

Sibal argued that the interpretation of the merger provision under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule has "huge repercussions on our polity", as it could allow a minority party to become a majority and a majority to turn into a minority through political realignments.

The bench noted that the Tenth Schedule was enacted by Parliament to govern the conduct of lawmakers and said it was for the legislature to devise an appropriate mechanism to address the concerns.

Sibal also informed the court that a similar matter concerning the defection of MLAs in Goa was already pending before it. The bench subsequently tagged his plea with the Goa case for consideration.

The petition has been filed by Sibal in his personal capacity and seeks a fresh interpretation of the law governing mergers under the anti-defection framework.

On July 22, Sibal had sought urgent listing of the plea, raising questions over whether the composition of Parliament could change in the manner witnessed in recent political developments and whether the existing interpretation of Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule remained appropriate in that context.

The plea comes against the backdrop of lawmakers from parties including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiv Sena (UBT) joining the BJP and other political parties by invoking provisions related to mergers under the anti-defection law.