In 2010, Amar Singh and Jaya Prada were expelled from the Samajwadi Party for anti-party activities.
The grey area on whether an unattached member of the House can be disqualified remains open as the Supreme Court declined to resolve the issue on Wednesday.
The court said, "Since the tenure of the petitioners - Amar Singh, Jaya Prada and Pyari Mohan Mahapatra -- are over, the situation doesn't demand that the referred questions be answered and can be kept open".
On February 2, 2010, Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and Rampur lawmaker Jaya Prada were expelled from the Samajwadi Party for anti-party activities. Giving them relief, the court, in November 2010, ruled that no action should be taken against them under the anti-defection law.
As per the court's interpretation of the anti-defection law in 1996, a member elected or nominated by a political party continues to be under its control even after his or her expulsion.
Their lawyers had argued that a legislator can be disqualified if he or she defects from the party or defy its whip while in the party and it won't apply to expelled members like Amar Singh and Jaya Pradha who were treated like unattached members and wanted the court to revisit the 1996 verdict.
Pyari Mohan Mahapatra, expelled by the BJP, also got interim relief from the court.