No pension for MLAs who defect: Himachal Assembly passes new Bill

According to the bill, “A person shall not be entitled to a pension under the Act if he has been disqualified at any point of time under the tenth schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law).” The Bill also includes provisions for recovery of pension drawn by legislators who are disentitled under this amendment.

Under Section 6B of the Act, every legislator who has served for any period up to five years is entitled to a pension of Rs 36,000 per month. Section 6(e) further states that every legislator will be given an additional pension of Rs 1,000 per month for every year in excess of the period of the first term.

The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution — popularly referred to as the ‘Anti-Defection Law’ — is designed to prevent political defections. The anti-defection law was passed by Parliament in 1985.

Six Congress MLAs — Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar — were disqualified in February this year under the anti-defection law for defying a party whip by abstaining from the house during the passing of the budget for 2024-25 and discussions on a cut motion.