Deregistration of political parties

Topic: Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Deregistration of political parties means cancelling a party's registration under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1951, so that it is no longer on the Election Commission's list in law. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has no general power to do this. In Indian National Congress v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002), the Supreme Court allowed it in only three cases: the party got registered by fraud or forgery, it gives up its s.29A allegiance to the Constitution, or the Central Government declares it unlawful.

This matters because registration is easy and brings money and tax benefits, but the law gives almost no way to remove a party. As a result, thousands of "paper parties" stay on the list. To deal with them, the ECI uses delisting, which is a different step from deregistration.

Explanation

How a party gets registered (what deregistration would undo)

• Parliament added s.29A to the RPA in 1989. Any group of Indian citizens that calls itself a political party may apply to the ECI.

• The registration steps, in order: 1. Apply to the ECI within 30 days of formation [9]. 2. Pay a fee of ₹10,000 by demand draft. The fee is not returned [8]. 3. File affidavits from at least 100 members. Each must be a registered elector (a voter on the electoral roll) and must not belong to any other registered party [8]. 4. Publish the proposed name in 2 national and 2 local daily newspapers, on 2 days [8]. 5. Allow objections. Anyone may object within 30 days of publication [8]. 6. The ECI decides. This is a quasi-judicial decision. The ECI acts like a court: it hears both sides and decides by fixed rules.

• The party's constitution (its rule book) must declare true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India, to socialism, secularism and democracy, and to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

Why the ECI cannot simply deregister

• The RPA has no clause that lets the ECI cancel a registration.
• The 2002 judgment:
• Registration under s.29A is a quasi-judicial act.
• Once the ECI has made that decision, it cannot review or cancel it.
• An authority can undo such a decision only if the law clearly gives it that power, and the RPA does not.

The three exceptions (the only grounds for deregistration)

1. Fraud or forgery. The party got registered through false documents or deceit.
2. Giving up its allegiance. The party amends its constitution to drop its s.29A allegiance to the Constitution, socialism, secularism and democracy.
3. Declared unlawful. The Central Government declares the party unlawful, for example under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

Limits and the gap left behind

• The law does not allow deregistration for:
• not contesting elections for years;
• not being found at the registered address;

• not filing contribution reports, audited accounts or election expenditure reports.

• Why the gap matters: registration brings real benefits.

• The right to accept contributions (s.29B).
• Income-tax exemption under s.13A of the Income-tax Act 1961 (now replaced by the Income-tax Act 2025). This depends on filing a Form 24A contribution report under s.29C, read with Rule 85B of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. Contributions received by a RUPP are then 100% tax-exempt [5].
• A common free symbol (one symbol that all the party's candidates can use) under para 10B of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968.

• Up to 20 star campaigners (leaders whose campaign travel costs are not added to a candidate's spending limit).

• So a party that does nothing can still keep these benefits unless the ECI uses some other tool.

In the Constitution and practice

• Legal base:
• s.29A, RPA 1951 (added in 1989) covers registration.
• The ECI writes its detailed registration guidelines under Article 324, which gives it the power to superintend, direct and control elections, read with s.29A [9].

• Article 19(1)(c) protects the freedom to form associations. This is why any power to remove parties must be used carefully.

• The landmark case: INC v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002), Supreme Court. Registration is quasi-judicial, so there is no general power to deregister, apart from the 3 exceptions.

• Demands for reform:
• The ECI asked for the power to deregister in its Proposed Electoral Reforms of 1998, 2004 and 2016.
• The Law Commission's 255th Report, Electoral Reforms (March 2015), supported giving the ECI this power [10].

• Parliament has not yet amended s.29A.

• The ECI's workaround is delisting:

• The ECI removes a registered unrecognised political party (RUPP) from its list of registered parties. A RUPP is a party registered under s.29A but not recognised as a national or state party.
• A delisted party loses all benefits under s.29B, s.29C, the Income-tax Act and the Symbols Order 1968 [5].
• Its s.29A registration is not legally cancelled.

• The registration guidelines say that a party that has not contested any election for 6 years in a row "shall be taken off the list" [2].

• The 2022 drives:

• 25 May 2022: the ECI deleted 87 RUPPs. Checks by the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) showed they did not exist at their registered addresses [5].
• In the same drive, the ECI found that 66 RUPPs had claimed income-tax exemption without filing Form 24A [5].
• 20 June 2022: 111 more RUPPs were deleted [6].
• September 2022: the ECI declared 253 RUPPs "inactive" and barred them from using the benefits of the Symbols Order 1968 [7].

• An aggrieved party could approach the CEO or the ECI within 30 days, with proof that it exists and has followed the rules [5].

• The 2025 nationwide drive:

• The test: the party had not contested even one election for 6 continuous years since 2019 [2].
• The safeguard: state CEOs first issued show-cause notices (notices asking the party to explain why it should not be delisted). Each party then got a hearing before the CEO [4].
• Round 1: 345 RUPPs were identified in June 2025 [1]. 334 were delisted on 9 August 2025, and RUPPs fell from 2,854 to 2,520 [2].
• Round 2: 476 RUPPs were identified in August 2025 [3]. 474 were delisted on 18 September 2025, making 808 in about two months [4].
• Round 3: notices went to 359 RUPPs for not filing audited annual accounts for 2021-22 to 2023-24, or for contesting elections without filing election expenditure reports [4].

Don't confuse with

• Delisting: the ECI removes a RUPP from its list, and the party loses its benefits [5]. But its s.29A registration is not legally cancelled. Deregistration cancels the registration itself, and the ECI can do that only on the 3 grounds from the 2002 judgment.
• Declaring a party "inactive" (2022): the party only loses the benefits of the Symbols Order 1968 [7]. It stays registered and stays on the list.
• Losing recognition: a national or state party can lose its recognised status and its reserved symbol (a symbol no other party can use) because of poor votes or seats under the Symbols Order 1968. It stays registered as a RUPP.
• Disqualification under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection): this removes individual legislators who defect from their party. It does not touch the party's registration.

Prelims Hooks

• s.29A, RPA 1951 (added 1989) covers registration. The RPA has no clause that allows deregistration.
• INC v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002): registration is quasi-judicial, so the ECI cannot deregister, except for (i) fraud or forgery, (ii) giving up the s.29A allegiance, or (iii) a Central Government declaration that the party is unlawful.
• Trap: "The ECI can deregister a party that does not contest elections for 6 years." Wrong. The ECI can only delist such a party [2].
• Trap: "The ECI's 2025 drive deregistered 808 parties." Wrong. It delisted them: 334 on 9 August 2025 and 474 on 18 September 2025 [4].
• Law Commission 255th Report (March 2015) supported giving the ECI the power to deregister parties [10]. The ECI asked for it in 1998, 2004 and 2016.
• Section pairs: s.29B gives the right to accept contributions. s.29C requires the Form 24A contribution report. Para 10B of the Symbols Order 1968 gives a RUPP a common free symbol.

Mains Points

• Easy entry, no legal exit:
• Registration is cheap and brings money benefits (s.29B, s.29C, tax exemption). After the 2002 judgment, the ECI can only delist, and delisting can be challenged in court.

• Reform: amend s.29A to allow deregistration for not contesting elections and for not filing accounts. The ECI asked for this in 1998, 2004 and 2016, and the Law Commission's 255th Report (2015) backed it [10].

• Black money risk:

• "Paper parties" can collect 100% tax-exempt donations and pass money through them [5].
• The 2022 drives found 66 such tax claims made without Form 24A [5]. This weakens transparency in political funding.

• Fixes: link continued registration to regular filing of audited accounts, and share data with the tax department.

• Cleaning up the list vs freedom of association:

• A strict deregistration power could be misused against small or new parties. Article 19(1)(c) protects the freedom to form associations.
• Safeguards: clear grounds written into law, show-cause notices, CEO hearings (as in the 2025 drive) [4], and appeal to the courts. These keep the clean-up fair as well as effective.

Related concepts

• Registration of political parties
• Registered unrecognised political party
• Delisting of registered unrecognised parties

Read more

• Registration, deregistration and delisting of parties