Nowhere is the saying “the law is an ass” more validated than in the shenanigans of defectors and amidst the legal acrobatics surrounding the 10th Schedule. Nowhere is the gap between preaching and practice more pronounced and nowhere in constitutional law is human venality more self evident. Poor Gaya Lal, who twice changed parties on the same day in 1967, would blush if he saw the sophisticated present-day devices used to circumvent the 1984 anti-defection law. Constitutional law is no match for Indian jugaad. The ill-repute of this subject does not arise from lack of legal principles or absence of clarity. After endless delays by the Speaker, the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) Manipur judgment declared that three months is the ideal time limit for Speakers to decide disqualification petitions. The Constitution was amended to eliminate the concept of a split, and despite the common misconception, even a two-third breakaway group is liable to be disqualified unless it merges with another political party. The Speaker’s order is subject to judicial review and the 10th Schedule is not …