Member of Parliament

To become a Member of Parliament, one must be an Indian citizen, take an oath, and meet a certain age requirement. Additional qualifications include being a registered voter and potentially being part of specific communities for reserved seats. Disqualifications include holding certain governmental positions, having mental instability, bankruptcy, non-Indian citizenship or allegiance to a foreign state, and several other criteria per various legislations. Members may also lose their seat due to party defection, dual membership, voluntary resignation, absenteeism, or under certain other circumstances such as invalid election, expulsion, or taking up specific positions like President or state governor. In this article, you will learn about the Eligibility Condition, Criteria for disqualifications, and Vacating of Seat for Member of the Parliament, all of which are very important topic for GS Paper-2 Polity & Governance of UPSC CSE Exam. To explore more interesting UPSC Polity concepts, check out other articles of IASToppers.  

Table of Content

• Who is a member of parliament?
• Eligibility Condition for Member of the Parliament
• Criteria for disqualifications for Member of the Parliament
• Vacating of Seat of Member of the Parliament
• Conclusion
• FAQs on Qualifications, Disqualification and Vacating of Seats of Member of Parliament

Who is a member of parliament?

• A parliamentary member refers to the person who is elected by the residents of a specific voting district to represent them in the parliament.
• In other words, a Member of Parliament or MP in India is a person who has been elected by the people in a particular area to represent them in India’s parliament.
• The Constitution of India allows for a maximum of 550 members in the Lok Sabha, with 530 members representing the States and 20 representing the Union Territories.
• Currently, the Lok Sabha has 543 seats filled by elected representatives.
• Rajya Sabha can have maximum of 250 members – 238 members representing the States and Union Territories, and 12 members nominated by the President.

Eligibility Conditions for Member of the Parliament

Outlined in the Constitution, the qualification criteria for an individual to be eligible for parliamentary membership include:

• Must hold Indian citizenship;
• Prior to contesting, an oath must be taken before an official designated by the election commission, where the individual:
  • Pledges allegiance to the Constitution of India
  • Commits to uphold the country’s sovereignty and integrity
• Minimum age of 30 for Rajya Sabha and 25 for Lok Sabha participation;
• Should possess other qualifications as required by the Parliament

Additional Eligibility Conditions

As per the Representation of People Act of 1951, Parliament has added the following additional qualifications:

• Must be a registered elector in a parliamentary constituency, a rule that applies to candidates for both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
• If a candidate wishes to contest for a seat allocated for scheduled castes (SC) or scheduled tribes (ST), they must belong to these communities in any state or union territory. However, members of SC/ST are also eligible to contest non-reserved seats.

Criteria for disqualifications for Member of the Parliament

The Constitution sets forth certain conditions, under which an individual is disqualified for election to the Parliament:

• Holding office of profit under the Union or state government, unless the position is that of a minister or any other post exempted by the Parliament.
• Legally recognized by a court as being mentally unstable.
• Being a bankrupt who has not been discharged.
• Either being a non-Indian citizen, or having willingly obtained citizenship of another country, or acknowledging allegiance to a foreign state.
• Specific disqualification as per any legislation enacted by the Parliament.

Additional Ineligibility Criteria as per the Representation of People Act (1951)

Further conditions of disqualification have been established in the Representation of People Act (1951):

• A conviction of specific election-related offences or engaging in dishonest practices during elections.
• A guilty verdict for a crime leading to imprisonment for two years or longer, although preventive detention doesn’t cause disqualification.
• Failure to submit an account of election expenditure within the prescribed period.
• Possessing a financial interest in governmental contracts, tasks, or services.
• Holding an executive role or any office of profit position in a corporation where the government owns at least a 25% share.
• Being dismissed from governmental employment due to dishonesty or corruption.
• Conviction of instigating discord among various groups or for bribery.
• Legal punishment for endorsing and implementing social offences like untouchability, dowry, and sati.

The President’s decision on any of the above disqualifications is final. However, he should seek the election commission’s opinion and proceed based on their advice.

Disqualification Based on Defection

As per Tenth Schedule of Indian Constitution, a person may lose their Parliamentary membership due to:

• Voluntarily leaving their elected political party’s membership.
• Voting or refraining from voting in a manner that opposes their political party’s direction.
• Joining a political party after being independently elected.
• Joining any political party six months after being nominated.

The Chairman for Rajya Sabha and the Speaker for Lok Sabha (not the President of India) make disqualification decisions based on the Tenth Schedule. The Supreme Court in 1992 ruled that these decisions are open to judicial review.

Vacating of Seat

Several scenarios can result in a parliament member giving up their position:

Dual Membership Constraints

The Representation of People Act (1951) sets specific guidelines to prevent dual membership, disallowing an individual from simultaneously holding seats in both houses of Parliament and the state legislature.

• In instances where a person gets elected to both Houses of Parliament, they must state their preferred House within 10 days. Failure to do so results in their Rajya Sabha seat being declared vacant.
• When a current member of one House gets elected to the other House, their seat in the first House will be vacated.
• If an individual wins two seats within the same House, they must choose one. If they don’t, both seats will be deemed vacant.

A person cannot simultaneously serve in both Parliament and the state legislature. If such a situation arises, the individual must resign from the state legislature within 14 days, else their Parliament seat becomes vacant.

Disqualification

• A member’s seat becomes vacant if they encounter any disqualifying conditions as outlined in the Constitution.
• These conditions also encompass disqualification due to party defection under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Voluntary Resignation

• A member can willingly resign by submitting a written notice to either the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, depending on the case.
• The vacancy occurs upon acceptance of the resignation. However, if the Chairman or Speaker isn’t convinced that the resignation is genuine or voluntary, they can choose not to accept it.

Absenteeism

• A member’s seat may be declared vacant due to absenteeism if they fail to attend all meetings for a consecutive 60-day period without proper authorization.
• Any period in which the House is adjourned for more than 4 continuous days or is prorogued isn’t counted in the 60-day period.

Various Other Circumstances

Other conditions that require a member to vacate their Parliament seat include:

• If the court declares the member’s election invalid.
• If the member is expelled by the House.
• If the member gets elected to the position of President or Vice-President.
• If the member accepts the position of a state governor.

Lastly, the Representation of the People Act (1951) (not the constitution) governs situations where a disqualified person is elected to Parliament. The Act allows the high court to declare such an election void. An aggrieved party can further appeal the high court’s order to the Supreme Court.

Conclusion

The functioning of a democratic parliament hinges on clear guidelines for eligibility, disqualification, and reasons for vacating seats. Such rules ensure the legitimacy of elected representatives and maintains the integrity of the parliamentary system. Member of Parliament can lose their seat due to party defection, dual membership, voluntary resignation, absenteeism, or under certain other circumstances such as invalid election, expulsion, or taking up specific positions like President or state governor.

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FAQs(frequently asked question)