Maharashtra Crisis: Plea in Supreme Court to restrain disqualified/ resignee MLAs from contesting elections for 5 years

An application has been moved before the Supreme Court in the backdrop of the recent political turmoil in Maharashtra, seeking urgent directions in a pending case so that legislators who are disqualified from the legislative assembly or have resigned, are restrained from contesting elections upto five years [Jaya Thakur vs Union of India]..The plea by Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh, Jaya Thakur was filed in an already pending petition filed by her in 2021 in which the top court had sought the Central government's response in January 2021. In that petition, Thakur had stated that a recent trend has developed across the country by political parties to render the provisions of Xth Schedule redundant and otiose by making ruling party MLAs resign from the House leading to the fall of the government. The MLAs who resign are then given ministerial posts by new government and are also given tickets to re-contest for by-elections.A Bench that comprised Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian had issued notice in the matterHowever the petitioner in her present application has stated that no reply has still been filed by the government yet..The application stated that since there has been no headway in the case, political parties are taking disadvantage of this situation and continuously destroying the elected governments in various States. "Recently, same thing(s) are repeated in State of Maharashtra. These political parties again trying to destroy the Democratic Fabric of our country. Therefore immediately direction of this Hon'ble in this application for direction," the application said..Once a member of the House incurs disqualification under the Xth Schedule, he should not be permitted to contest again during the term for which he was elected, it was submitted."In the year 2019, in the State of Karnataka, 17 MLAs who resigned/were disqualified by the Speaker for anti-party activities, sought re-election and 11 of them got reelected. Ten of them got ministerial berths in the new Government that was formed after the earlier government fell," the application highlighted..Such undemocratic practices are making a mockery of our democracy and the Constitution, it was contended. "The result is that due to this, people of the State are denied stability and the Voters are denied their right to choose and elect representative having a common ideology," the application said..The plea, therefore, sought the following interim direction:"Restrain MLAs from contest the election upto five years, from the date of his resignation/disqualification from the Assembly."