The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre and the Election Commission of India (EC) to respond to a plea to debar legislators, disqualified under the Tenth Schedule, from contesting byelections during the rest of the tenure of the House.

A Bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde issued notice and asked the government and the EC to respond in four weeks.

The petitioner, Jaya Thakur, referred to recent political events in several States in which Members of Legislative Assemblies resign, followed by the collapse of the incumbent government. They surface again as Ministers in the new government formed by a rival political party.

“Once a member of the House incurs disqualification under the Tenth Schedule, he cannot be permitted to contest again during the term for which he was elected. Article 172 makes a membership of a House co terminus with the term of five years of the House except in circumstances mentioned there in,” the petition said. It referred to recent events in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

Subscribe to The Hindu digital to get unlimited access to Today's paper

Already have an account ? Sign in

Start your 14 days free trial. Sign Up

Find mobile-friendly version of articles from the day's newspaper in one easy-to-read list.

Enjoy reading as many articles as you wish without any limitations.

A select list of articles that match your interests and tastes.

Move smoothly between articles as our pages load instantly.

A one-stop-shop for seeing the latest updates, and managing your preferences.

We brief you on the latest and most important developments, three times a day.

*Our Digital Subscription plans do not currently include the e-paper, crossword and print.

You can support quality journalism by turning off ad blocker or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to The Hindu.

Sign up for a 30 day free trial.