How does the anti-defection law actually work in practice?

I keep hearing politicians talk about the Tenth Schedule, but when I try to read up on it, the language gets incredibly dense. It seems like the Speaker of the House has a lot of discretionary power when deciding whether a member has voluntarily given up the party whip. Has anyone here dealt with a situation where a legislator was disqualified, and how transparent was the process? I’m trying to understand if the law actually prevents horse-trading or if it just moves the drama behind closed doors.