Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, May 19: Disqualification petitions filed under the anti-defection law during the previous Lok Sabha remained pending for nearly three years before lapsing without any final decision after the House was dissolved, according to an RTI response accessed by India Today.
The reply from the Lok Sabha Secretariat revealed that only one disqualification petition has been received so far in the ongoing 18th Lok Sabha. The petition was filed in March 2026 by JD(U) MP Dileshwar Kamait against MP Giridhari Yadav and is currently pending before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The RTI response also highlighted that anti-defection proceedings initiated during the 17th Lok Sabha remained unresolved for years before becoming infructuous following the dissolution of the House.
According to the Secretariat, a disqualification petition against Trinamool Congress MP Sisir Kumar Adhikari was filed in May 2021 by TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. Sisir Kumar Adhikari is the father of BJP leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Another petition was filed in July 2021 against YSRCP MP K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju by YSRCP Chief Whip Margani Bharat.
The Secretariat said both petitions were referred to the Committee of Privileges in January 2022 for preliminary inquiry. However, the committee did not submit its report and no final decision was taken by the Speaker before the 17th Lok Sabha was dissolved on June 5, 2024.
As a result, both petitions automatically lapsed after dissolution of the House.
Explaining the legal position, the Lok Sabha Secretariat stated that dissolution of the Lok Sabha “passes a sponge over the parliamentary slate”, meaning all pending business before the House and its committees ceases to exist once the House is dissolved.
The response cited the parliamentary reference text Practice & Procedure of Parliament by MN Kaul and SL Shakdher, which states that all pending business before the Lok Sabha or its committees lapses upon dissolution.
The RTI application had also sought details on the total number of disqualification petitions pending before the Speaker, the number of petitions disposed of, and timelines for deciding such cases during the current and previous Lok Sabhas.
However, the Lok Sabha Secretariat declined to disclose certain details, citing exemption under Section 8(1)(c) of the RTI Act related to parliamentary privilege.