Article 102 of the Indian Constitution talks about the provisions that were made regarding the disqualification of the members of the either House of Parliament.
The constitution of India ensures that there is no abuse of power and authority exists. Article 102 serves the same purpose by ensuring that no member of Parliament shall exploit the power and authority he has been given.
We will get to know more about Article 102 of the Indian constitution in detail but before let us just have a glance at what it says.
Article 102 Of The Indian Constitution – At A Glance
Article 102 of the Indian Constitution says that there will be some clauses that will specifically be the disqualification factor of a member of the Parliament.
Factors like holding a house of profit under the government, being not an Indian citizen, and not being mentally sound, among others are some of the factors that will be taken into consideration to disqualify a member of either house of the Parliament.
Article 102 Of The Indian Constitution – Detailed
Let us dive deep into the clauses and subclasses and understand each of them one by one.
Clause 1 – As it is & Explained
“(1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament
(a) if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder;
Subclause (a) of Clause 1 says that a person can and will be disqualified if he holds the office of profit under either State or Union government.
The office is profit is a holding such designation in the government of India in which the person holding the office gets salaries, allowances and other benefits from the government of India.
This subclause also says that if the government of India or we can say specifically Parliament decided upon some office not to disqualify its holder lawfully, then this subclause will not come into the effect.
(b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;
If any of the competent courts declare that member to be mentally unsound, then the person will be disqualified from the House.
Competent courts are such courts that have been given authority and power of jurisdiction by the government of India.
(c) if he is an undischarged insolvent;
If the member of the House has been declared as an Undischarged insolvent by the court, then he will be disqualified from the House.
The undischarged insolvent is when a person has not paid his debts and has not been declared free from his financial obligations by the court.
(d) if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;
If the person is not a citizen of India or has deliberately gained the citizenship of a foreign state or has to adhere to policies of that particular foreign state, if found out he will be disqualified as a member from the House.
(e) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament Explanation For the purposes of this clause a person shall not be deemed to hold an office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State by reason only that he is a Minister either for the Union or for such State”
The last subclause of Clause 1 of Article 102 of the Indian constitution says that if a member has been disqualified in the effect of any of the subclasses mentioned above, he shall not be holding any office of Profit under the government of India.
Just because he is a minister in the State or in the Union, he does not has the authority to hold the office of profit it has been found out under the effect of the above-mentioned subclasses.
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Clause 2 – As it is & Explained
“(2) A person shall be disqualified for being a member of either House of Parliament if he is so disqualified under the Tenth Schedule”
Clause 2 of Article 102 of the Indian constitution says that the member of the house is liable to be disqualified from being a member if he is disqualified under the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Summing Up
In Article 102 of the Indian constitution, we saw that a person is deemed not to be a member anymore it is under the effect of some critical clauses. Why do you think it has been provided in such a way in our constitution?
I think the processes and clauses help the government to keep a check on people who can play with the authority. Article 102 of the Indian Constitution is indeed an important Article among others in the Indian Constitution.
By making provisions for the disqualifications for membership, the government is doing nothing else to keep a check on officials and their usage of powers.
