Ravi S. Naik case

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: Ravi S. Naik v. Union of India (1994) · Topic: Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Ravi S. Naik v. Union of India (1994) is a Supreme Court judgment on the Tenth Schedule, India's anti-defection law. This law disqualifies legislators who switch sides. Paragraph 2(1)(a) disqualifies a member who "voluntarily gives up membership" of their party. The Court held that this does not need a formal resignation. It can be judged from the member's conduct. This matters because otherwise a member could quietly work for a rival party and avoid disqualification simply by never resigning.

Example

An MLA wins on Party A's ticket and never resigns from it. The MLA then openly campaigns for Party B and appears on its stage. Under Ravi S. Naik, the Speaker can treat this conduct as voluntarily giving up membership of Party A and disqualify the MLA.

Don't confuse with

  • G. Viswanathan case (1996): this case is about a member whom the party expels. An expelled member still counts as belonging to the party that gave them the ticket. Ravi S. Naik is about a member who leaves the party through their conduct.
  • Defying the party whip (para 2(1)(b)): this is a separate ground for disqualification. It covers voting or abstaining against the party's direction inside the House, not leaving the party.

Related concepts

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