In a significant legal blow to the NC Hills Autonomous Council, the Gauhati High Court has struck down a 2017 anti-defection law, declaring it “unconstitutional” and enacted “without any competence.”
The ruling, delivered on May 7 by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, invalidates Rule 18A of the NC Hills Autonomous Council (42nd Amendment) Act, 2017. The court maintained that the council, which operates under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, overstepped its legal boundaries by attempting to legislate on matters of member disqualification and political defection.
The legal challenge was brought forward by residents of the Dima Hasao district, who questioned the constitutional validity of the council’s power to enforce anti-defection rules. Under the contested Rule 18A, any elected member of the council faced disqualification if they voluntarily resigned from their political party or voted against a party “whip” or direction within the council.
However, the High Court clarified that the NC Hills Autonomous Council is not a plenary legislative body. While the Sixth Schedule grants the council specific powers to manage tribal areas, the court ruled that framing anti-defection laws falls entirely outside that scope.
“In pith and substance, Rule 18A is an anti-defection law, falling outside the Sixth Schedule,” the bench observed. The court further emphasized that the “field is occupied by the Tenth Schedule,” which serves as the complete constitutional code for handling defections.
The court’s decision followed exhaustive submissions from advocates representing the petitioners, the council, and the government. In its final order, the bench was definitive in its assessment of the council’s legislative reach.
“Rule 18A introduced by the Constitution of N.C. Hills Autonomous Council (42nd Amendment) Act, 2017, is hereby declared to be invalid and null and void, as being a legislation without any competence of the N.C. Hills Autonomous Council to make a law on the subject of defection,” the judgment stated.
By striking down the rule, the High Court has effectively removed the council’s authority to disqualify its members on the grounds of party switching, asserting that such powers are reserved for the higher constitutional frameworks already in place.
