What happened
The Supreme Court agreed to hear Congress leader Girish Chodankar’s petition challenging the Goa Assembly Speaker’s rejection of the Congress request to disqualify eight MLAs who switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2022. The dispute is important because party switching can change the numerical strength of governments and raise questions under the anti-defection law.
Background and earlier position
The anti-defection framework is meant to curb political defections and protect legislative stability. Under that framework, one recurring issue is whether a breakaway group of legislators can claim the merger exception when a large enough share of the legislature party moves together.
Before the Supreme Court’s decision to admit the matter for final hearing, the court had told the petitioner to approach the Bombay High Court. The Goa Speaker had already rejected the Congress party’s request to disqualify the eight MLAs.
What changed now
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