How does the Parliament Regulate Itself?

Parliament, as already noted, functions above all as a debating forum — it is through debate that Parliament carries out virtually every one of its important functions. For that debate to actually work, discussions have to be meaningful and conducted in an orderly way, so that Parliament's functions are carried out smoothly and its dignity as an institution stays intact. The Constitution itself makes specific provisions to secure this orderly conduct of business, and the presiding officer of the legislature — the Speaker in the Lok Sabha, the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha, or the equivalent office in a State legislature — holds final authority in regulating how business is conducted in the House.

One important way the presiding officer keeps members' conduct in check is through the law on defection. Most members of a legislature are elected on the ticket of a particular political party. What should happen if a member, once elected, simply decides to leave that party and join another? For many years after Independence this question had no settled answer, until an agreement finally emerged among the parties that a legislator elected on one party's ticket must be restrained from "defecting" to another party. This agreement was written into the Constitution through the 52nd Amendment Act of 1985, commonly called the anti-defection amendment, and it was later modified further by the 91st Amendment. Under this law, the presiding officer of the House is the authority who takes the final decision in every case involving defection. If a member is found to have "defected," that member loses membership of the House and is also disqualified from holding any political office, including a ministership.

What exactly counts as defection? If a member stays away from the House when the party leadership has asked them to be present, or votes against the party's instructions, or voluntarily gives up their party membership, this is treated as defection. …