Bengaluru: Legislators defecting from their parties may soon face stricter penalties, including loss of voting rights during no-confidence motions and disqualification from holding ministerial or other lucrative government posts, if key recommendations under review by a national panel on anti-defection laws are accepted.

Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday said the committee of presiding officers examining reforms to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law) will hold its final meeting in Karnataka in June before submitting its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

The committee, headed by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, was constituted in February to recommend measures to strengthen anti-defection provisions. Besides Khader, the panel includes Odisha Speaker Surama Padhy and Nagaland Speaker Sharingain Longkumer.

Among the major proposals discussed in earlier meetings held in Mumbai and Puri is the denial of voting rights to defecting legislators during no-confidence motions — a move aimed at preventing governments from being toppled through engineered political defections.

The panel is also considering barring defectors from becoming ministers, chairpersons of boards and corporations, or from holding any office of profit in a newly formed government after switching sides.

Another major reform under consideration is the creation of a separate tribunal to decide disputes over which faction represents the “real” political party in the event of a split, thereby reducing the burden on Assembly Speakers.

The committee is also seeking clarity on the authority of party whips and Legislature Party chief whips in issuing binding directions to legislators.

To address delays in disqualification proceedings, the panel is examining the possibility of fixing a statutory time limit for deciding petitions against defecting members.

“The process gets prolonged for years. We hope to fix it to three to six months,” Khader said.

Meanwhile, a separate committee on ‘Rules and Procedures’, headed by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker, will meet in Mysuru on May 12 and 13 to explore uniform rules across state legislatures.

The committee includes Speakers from Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Delhi.

“Every state has different rules and procedures, though 80 per cent of the rules are the same. We will examine the best practices and recommend common rules and procedures,” Khader said, adding that the report would be submitted within six months.