TMC Rebel MLAs: Supreme Court Sends Disqualification Plea to Calcutta HC

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to hear Trinamool Congress MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay’s fresh petition on the pending disqualification cases against 10 rebel TMC MLAs and told him to approach the Calcutta High Court. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi disposed of the plea, LiveLaw and The Hans India reported, after about five months passed without a decision from the West Bengal Assembly Speaker. The 10 include Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee and former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim.

Another Court, Another Wait

For the petitioner, the case now starts again in a new forum. The bench said “the appropriate recourse at this stage would be to approach the Calcutta High Court”, and asked the High Court’s Chief Justice to place the matter before a Division Bench that “shall decide the matter expeditiously”. Until that bench rules, the disqualification petitions stay undecided and all 10 MLAs keep their seats. Banerjee also remains Leader of Opposition: the Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench has so far declined interim relief against his recognition in that role, LiveLaw reported.

Petitions Filed on 8 July

The Mamata Banerjee-led faction filed the disqualification petitions on 8 July. When the Speaker did not act, Chattopadhyay came to the Supreme Court. On 28 September the court disposed of that earlier plea and asked the Speaker to decide by 8 October, a date based on its Keisham Meghachandra Singh judgment, which says Tenth Schedule petitions should ordinarily be decided within about three months. Chattopadhyay returned to the court after that window passed. Besides Banerjee and Hakim, the MLAs named are Arup Roy, Sandipan Saha, Shiuli Saha, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan and Rathin Ghosh.

Also read Mamata Banerjee I-PAC Case: What the Supreme Court Must Now Decide

A Fresh Petition in Calcutta

Chattopadhyay must now file a new petition in the Calcutta High Court. The Chief Justice there is expected to refer it to a Division Bench, but no hearing date has been reported. It is also not yet known what the Speaker plans to do with the 10 petitions in the meantime. IPB News covers the Supreme Court in its Supreme Court tag and Bengal politics in Daily Updates.

Source: Based on reporting by LiveLaw and The Hans India.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.