Having a “stricter model” of disqualification for lawmakers who defy the party line will have a chilling effect on legitimate dissent and it cannot be accepted, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

The Karnataka Congress had sought directions from the apex court for formulation of a stricter model of disqualification for MLAs who indulge in anti-party activities.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana who penned the 109-page judgment on behalf of himself and Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari said it did not subscribe to such an extreme stand, considering that it could have a chilling effect on legitimate dissent.

“In any case, such a change in the policy cannot be looked into by this court, as the same squarely falls within the legislative forte. Any attempt to interfere is better termed as reconstruction, which falls beyond the scope of legal interpretation by the courts,” the bench said.

The Karnataka Congress had contended that the

court should consider a stricter model of disqualification wherein a person who has crossed over should not be encouraged and should be punished with severe penal consequences.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the party, had termed the actions of the Congress and JDS legislators, who have been disqualified for defying the parties’ whips and staying away from the floor test and later resigning their House membership, a constitutional sin. The actions of the MLAs cleared the way for the BJP to return to power in Karnataka.

The court upheld the disqualification of the 17 Congress-JDS legislators but paved the way for them to contest the December 5 bypolls.

While upholding their disqualification, the apex court set aside the portion of the orders by then Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar through which the MLAs were disqualified till the end of the 15th Karnataka Legislative Assembly’s term in 2023.