The 52nd Amendment Act, 1985, is a constitutional amendment act that introduced the Anti-Defection Law in India. It was enacted to address the problem of political defections, which had caused significant governmental instability, famously described by the phrase "Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram". The Act was passed by Parliament and assented to on February 15, 1985, with the primary objective of preventing elected representatives from changing political parties for personal gain and to strengthen parliamentary democracy.
The Act works by adding the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, which lays down the provisions for the disqualification of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of State Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) on the ground of defection. A legislator can be disqualified if they voluntarily give up the membership of their political party, or if they vote or abstain from voting contrary to any direction (whip) issued by their party without prior permission. Additionally, an independent member is disqualified if they join a political party after the election, and a nominated member is disqualified if they join a party after six months of taking their seat. The authority to decide on disqualification rests with the Presiding Officer of the House (Speaker or Chairman) under Paragraph 6(1) of the Tenth Schedule.
The 52nd Amendment is connected to the 91st Amendment Act, 2003, which significantly changed the original law. The original law had an exception that protected members from disqualification if a 'split' occurred, involving at least one-third of the legislative party. The 91st Amendment, 2003, removed this 'split' exception entirely, but retained the exception for a 'merger' if at least two-thirds of the members of the legislative party agree to it. The constitutional validity of the Tenth Schedule was upheld by the Supreme Court in the landmark judgment of Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1992), which ruled that the Speaker's decision is subject to judicial review.