•Article 102, Article 191 and the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution lay down the grounds for disqualification of
legislators.These include: (i) holding an office of profit under government, (ii) being of unsound mind, (iii)
•being an undischarged insolvent, (iv) ceasing to be an Indian citizen, and (v) defection. Disqualification is
•decided by the President or Governor on opinion of the Election Commission of India (ECI), or the Chairman or
•Speaker of the House. The RP Act, 1951 specifies additional grounds for disqualification such as: (i) conviction
•under certain offences, (ii) corrupt practices, and (iii) failure to submit accounts of election expenses.2
•Disqualification is decided by the judiciary, President or ECI depending on the ground for disqualification.
•The Constitution does not lay down separate provisions for qualification or disqualification of a Minister apart
•from those that apply to legislators. However, under Article 75(1B) and Article 164(1B), an MP/MLA/MLC
•who is disqualified for defection is also disqualified to be a Minister until the end of the term or his re-election.
•Several High-Level Commissions have recognised that maintaining conviction as a ground for disqualification
•does not adequately prevent criminalisation of politics due to the difficulty in securing convictions against
•politically influential legislators. Instead, they have recommended triggering disqualification upon framing of
•charges, where the court decides whether there is sufficient ground to proceed with a trial.3,4,5,6,7
•The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 was introduced in Lok Sabha in August 2025. The Bill
•provides for the automatic removal of Ministers arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days for serious
offences.Two other bills with similar provisions were introduced for the UTs of Puducherry and J&K. The
•Bills have been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (Chair: Ms Aparajita Sarangi).
•Key Features
•The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 seeks to provide for the removal of the Prime Minister, a Chief
•Minister, or any other Minister in the central or a state government, if he is arrested and detained in custody on
•account of serious criminal offences. It also applies these provisions to the UT of Delhi. Two other Bills have
•been introduced to apply these provisions to the UTs of Puducherry, and J&K.
• Removal of Ministers: A Minister may be removed from office if: (i) he is accused of an offence
•punishable with imprisonment of five years or more, and (ii) he has been arrested and detained in custody
•for 30 consecutive days. Such removal can be done by the President, or Governor upon the advice of the
•Prime Minister or Chief Minister respectively, or automatically on the 31st consecutive day of detention.
• Removal of Prime Minister or Chief Minister: In case of the Prime Minister or a Chief Minister, he must
•resign by the 31st consecutive day of detention, failing which he shall automatically cease to hold office.
•PART B: KEY ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
•The Bills may violate the basic structure of the Constitution
•The Bills propose that the Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or a Minister be removed from office automatically if
•they are arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days. This applies to detention for an offence punishable with
•imprisonment of five years or more. This may allow for removal of elected governments or Ministers only on
•accusations and before a substantial finding of guilt. This action may involve only the investigative agencies,
•with the court checking validity of arrest and eligibility of bail, without judging the likelihood of guilt.
•Therefore, the Bills may violate four features of the basic structure of the Constitution of India. These are: (i)
•parliamentary form of democracy, (ii) separation of power (iii) federalism, and (iv) rule of law. The basic
•structure doctrine was laid down by the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala (1973).8 The
•Court held that while the Parliament may amend the Constitution, it could not alter the essential features of the
•Constitution, i.e., its “basic structure”. These issues are discussed in the following pages.
•December 05, 2025 - 2 -
•Removal of Ministers upon Detention PRS Legislative Research
•Parliamentary form of democracy
•In P.V. Narasimha Rao v State (1998), the Supreme Court recognised that parliamentary democracy forms part of
•The the basic structure of the Constitution.9 The Bills may violate this feature on following grounds:
•Constitution
•(130th Infringing upon Lok Sabha’s powers to appoint or remove the Prime Minister: In a Parliamentary democracy,
•Amendment) Lok Sabha has the sole authority to elect the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, and
•Bill, 2025: is an individual who commands the support of the majority of legislators in Lok Sabha.10 Lok Sabha has the sole
