What is the new Bill on sacking CMs, ministers and PMs all about?

Home Minister Amit Shah will introduce in Parliament today the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025. Under the formal title is a proposed law that will legalise the removal of elected representatives, including PMs and CMs, if they are held in jail for 30 days running on ‘serious criminal charges’. 

The bill proposes adding Section 5A to Article 239AA of the Constitution, mandating that leaders arrested on charges carrying a minimum five-year imprisonment term must resign by the 31st day of detention or face automatic removal. The legislation also allows such leaders to resume their roles upon release from custody. Alongside this, the government will introduce the Union Territories Administration (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to extend similar provisions to Union territories.

The government argues the bill upholds constitutional values and public trust in leadership, citing cases like Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who ran the government from jail for nearly six months in 2024 during an investigation into an alleged liquor scam. The bill’s explanatory note emphasizes the need for integrity among leaders and the potential harm to governance when detained officials remain in office.

Opposition Warns

Opposition parties have criticized the bill as a tool to target political rivals, warning it could destabilize elected governments through arbitrary arrests by central agencies. They point to the lack of clear guidelines for arrests and the risk of misuse to unseat opposition leaders without electoral defeat. Protests are expected in the Lok Sabha, with the bills likely to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further review.

The amendment requires a special majority in both houses of Parliament—more than 50% of total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting. As it affects federal provisions, ratification by at least half of India’s state legislatures is also needed.

The debate underscores India’s ongoing struggle to balance anti-corruption measures with democratic safeguards, with the bill’s outcome likely to influence political accountability and governance norms ahead of the 2029 elections.