BharatNotes Defection
nounUsage in a UPSC answer
The Tenth Schedule was inserted to curb the rampant defection that had reduced legislative loyalty to a marketable commodity, thereby insulating the people's mandate from the lure of office and lucre.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
defect (n/v), defector (n), defective (adj), defectively (adv), defectiveness (n)
Root
Latin dēficere = to desert, fail; dē- = away from + facere = to do, make; noun form dēfectiō
Etymology
From Latin dēfectiō ("a failing, revolt, desertion"), from dēficere ("to undo, fail, desert"), from dē- ("from, away") + facere ("to do, to make").
Memory Hook
DEFECTion shares its root with DEFECT — a defector is one who "defects," i.e. leaves a fault in the ranks by walking away (de- "away" + facere "to do") to join the other side.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Abandoning the party on whose ticket one was elected. The Tenth Schedule, inserted by the 52nd Amendment in 1985, disqualifies a member who voluntarily gives up party membership or votes or abstains against the party whip, and an independent who joins a party after election. The 91st Amendment of 2003 tightened it decisively, deleting the exemption that had protected a split by one-third of the legislature party and leaving only a merger of at least two-thirds protected, while separately capping the Council of Ministers at fifteen per cent of the strength of the House to remove the inducement of office. The defect that remains is procedural rather than substantive: the presiding officer decides disqualification and no time limit was prescribed, so a Speaker with an interest in the outcome could simply decline to decide, and the Supreme Court held in Keisham Meghachandra Singh in 2020 that three months is ordinarily the outer limit, urging Parliament to consider entrusting the function to an independent tribunal instead.
Don’t Confuse It With
Defection under the Tenth Schedule covers voluntarily giving up party membership, which courts have read more widely than formal resignation, and voting or abstaining contrary to the whip. A split by one-third was formerly protected and that exemption was deleted in 2003, leaving only a merger of at least two-thirds. The Speaker decides disqualification acting as a tribunal, which is why the decision is open to judicial review. The whip here means the party direction whose breach triggers disqualification, not the officer who issues it.
Hindi Meaning
दलबदल (dalbadal); दसवीं अनुसूची (dasvīn anusūchī) for the Tenth Schedule.
Common Questions
- What did the 91st Amendment change?
- It deleted the exemption protecting a split by one-third of a legislature party, leaving only a merger of at least two-thirds protected, and capped the Council of Ministers at fifteen per cent of House strength.
- Why is the Speaker's role in defection cases criticised?
- Because the Speaker usually belongs to a party with an interest in the outcome and no time limit was prescribed, so petitions could be left undecided; the Supreme Court has since set three months as the ordinary outer limit.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Prelims 2022 — Parliament
- Prelims 2014 — Amendment Procedure
- Prelims 2014 — Constitutional Schedules
- Mains 2013 · GS2 · 10 marks — Indian Polity
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Defection” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
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