THE ANTI-DEFECTION LAW: SHIELDING DEMOCRACY OR SILENCING DISSENT?
AUTHOR – HARSH PORWAL, LAW COLLEGE, DEHRADUN
BEST CITATION – HARSH PORWAL, THE ANTI-DEFECTION LAW: SHIELDING DEMOCRACY OR SILENCING DISSENT?, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (10) OF 2025, PG. 771-780, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
INTRODUCTION
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the land. It frames fundamental political principles, procedures, practices, rights, powers, and duties of the government. It imparts constitutional supremacy and not Parliamentary supremacy, as it is not created by the Parliament but, by a Constituent Assembly, and adopted by its people, with a declaration in its Preamble. In a Parliamentary democracy, the obligations of constitutional morality are expected to be equally binding on the government and the opposition. In India, the same political party treats these obligations very differently when it is in office, and when it is out of it. This has contributed greatly to the popular perception of our political system as being amoral.[1]
[1] Andre Beteille, ‘Constitutional Morality’ 43(40) Economic and Political Weekly 12( 2008).