Qualifications for membership of a Legislative Assembly
Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 deals with qualifications for membership of a Legislative Assembly. A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Assembly of a State unless— (a) in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes or for the Scheduled Tribes of that State, he is a member of any of those castes or of those tribes, as the case may be, and is an el The Act came into force on 17 Jul 1951.
A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Assembly of a State unless—
(a) in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes or for the Scheduled Tribes of that State, he is a member of any of those castes or of those tribes, as the case may be, and is an elector for any Assembly constituency in that State;
(b) in the case of a seat reserved for an autonomous district of Assam, 1*** he is a member of a 2[Scheduled Tribe of any autonomous district] and is an elector for the Assembly constituency in which such seat or any other seat is reserved for that district; and
(c) in the case of any other seat, he is an elector for any Assembly constituency in that State:
3[Provided that for the period referred to in clause (2) of article 371A, a person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill any seat allocated to the Tuensang district in the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland unless he is a member of the regional council referred to in that article.]
Section 5, The Representation of the People Act, 1951 (Act 43 of 1951).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
-
Election Commission of India vs Bajrang Bahadur Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, applies to supervening disqualifications (those acquired after election) and operates to render a legislator's seat automatically vacant by operation of Article 190(3) from the moment the legislator enters into a contract with the government for supply of goods or execution of works. The disqualification is not contingent on completion or non-completion of the contract, nor is it affected by subsequent completion of contractual obligations. The disqualifying event is the mere entry into such a contract by a person already serving as a legislator. Once incurred, the disqualification operates to vacate the seat immediately, even though the period of disqualification itself may be limited to the subsistence of the contract. A legislator who becomes disqualified cannot resume office without being re-elected, though upon cessation of the disqualifying event, he becomes eligible to contest fresh elections. The Governor's declaration under Article 192 is purely declaratory in nature, determining whether the factual event occurred; the legal consequence of seat vacation flows from the Constitution itself, not from the Governor's declaration.
On this section: Prescribes qualifications for filling up seats in State Legislature reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 5
What have the courts held on Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act?
Election Commission of India vs Bajrang Bahadur Singh (09 Apr 2015) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Prescribes qualifications for filling up seats in State Legislature reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
How do I find court cases under Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: RP Act 1951 5, section 5 RP Act 1951, section 5 of the Representation of the People Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Election Commission of India vs Bajrang Bahadur Singh (09 Apr 2015).
What should I read with Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it.
When did Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act come into force?
Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act, cited as RP Act 1951 5, came into force on 17 Jul 1951, having been enacted on 17 Jul 1951. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 123. Corrupt practices1710 words
- 33. Presentation of nomination paper and requirement for a valid nomination1149 words
- 8. Disqualification on conviction for certain offences898 words
- 75A. Declaration of assets and liabilities659 words
- 39. Nomination of candidates at other elections632 words
- 36. Scrutiny of nominations596 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.