Article 190

Vacation of Seats in State Legislature

Official heading: “Vacation of seats.”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part VI, Article 190, printed pages 85–86
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 190 provides for the vacation of legislative seats upon dual membership, incurring disqualification, voluntary resignation, or prolonged absence of sixty days.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 190 sets out the rules governing how seats in the State Legislature fall vacant to prevent divided allegiances and absenteeism.

Dual Membership Bans: No person can be a member of both Houses of a State Legislature, nor can they be a member of Legislatures of two or more States simultaneously.

Disqualification and Resignation: A seat becomes vacant if a member incurs any disqualification under Article 191, or resigns by writing to the Speaker or Chairman. Under the Thirty-third Amendment (1974), the presiding officer must satisfy themselves through inquiry that a resignation is voluntary and genuine before accepting it.

Sixty-Day Absence: The House may declare a seat vacant if a member remains absent from all meetings for sixty consecutive days without permission, excluding periods of prorogation or adjournments exceeding four days.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A sitting MLA is elected to the Legislative Council or to another State's legislature.

Core takeaway: Under Article 190, the member must vacate one of the seats within the prescribed time; dual membership is constitutionally prohibited.

Illustrative Notice: A resignation coerced under political pressure can be rejected by the Speaker following the 1974 amendment inquiry.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 190 prevents dual mandates and curbs legislative absenteeism.

Strict ban on dual membership across chambers and across States.
Automatic vacancy upon constitutional disqualification under Article 191.
Presiding officer inquiry into voluntariness of resignations.
Sixty-day absence threshold empowers the House to declare vacancies.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) No person shall be a member of both Houses of the Legislature of a State and provision shall be made by the Legislature of the State by law for the vacation by a person who is chosen a member of both Houses of his seat in one house or the other. (2) No person shall be a member of the Legislatures of two or more States specified in the First Schedule and if a person is chosen a member of the Legislatures of two or more such States, then, at the expiration of such period as may be specified in rules 1 made by the President, that person's seat in the Legislatures of all such States shall become vacant, unless he has previously resigned his seat in the Legislatures of all but one of the States. (3) If a member of a House of the Legislature of a State— (a) becomes subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (1) or clause (2) of article 191; or (b) resigns his seat by writing under his hand addressed to the speaker or the Chairman, as the case may be, and his resignation is accepted by the Speaker or the Chairman, as the case may be, his seat shall thereupon become vacant: Provided that in the case of any resignation referred to in sub-clause (b), if from information received or otherwise and after making such inquiry as he thinks fit, the Speaker or the Chairman, as the case may be, is satisfied that such resignation is not voluntary or genuine, he shall not accept such resignation. (4) If for a period of sixty days a member of a House of the Legislature of a State is without permission of the House absent from all meetings thereof, the House may declare his seat vacant: Provided that in computing the said period of sixty days no account shall be taken of any period during which the House is prorogued or is adjourned for more than four consecutive days.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 190, printed pages 85–86 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource