Bengal speaker has time till Oct 8 to decide TMC rebel qualification plea: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said West Bengal assembly speaker Rathindra Nath Bose has time until October 8 to decide on the disqualification petitions filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) against 10 rebel legislators, noting that its 2020 decision requires the Speaker to decide on such pleas within three months.West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, centre, speaks to the media outside Nirvachan Sadan on July 2. (PTI)A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant noted that the disqualification pleas against the rebel MLAs, led by rival faction leader Ritabrata Banerjee, were filed on July 8. “This court in Keisham Meghachandra Singh v Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly (2020) has held that in deciding disqualification petitions, the Speaker acts as a tribunal and such power is to be exercised within a reasonable period,” the bench said.The bench disposed of the TMC petition in light of the six-year-old verdict, underscoring that at the time, the court had laid down a period of three months for the Manipur speaker to decide the pending disqualification pleas.Applying this decision to the facts of the present case, the bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said it expected the speaker to adhere to this timeline.“We have every reason to believe that the Speaker is fully cognisant of the principles laid down by this court and shall make all endeavours to take an appropriate decision within the said time period,” the bench said.The order was passed on a petition filed by TMC leader Sohandeb Chattopadhyay, who had filed the disqualification pleas against the 10 rebel MLAs.Besides Ritabrata Banerjee, the other rebel MLAs include Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Akhuruzzaman Ansari, Shiuli Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan and Rathin Ghosh.Senior TMC leader Chattopadhyay was represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who urged the court to keep the matter pending, saying this issue was coming up in many cases.The bench declined the request. “There are so many proceedings where the judiciary is to comply with timelines for passing decisions which we are gloriously in breach of,” the court said.Chattopadhyay asked the court to direct the speaker to decide the disqualification petitions expeditiously. But the bench underlined that the 2020 decision addressed the relief sought by the petitioner.The TMC dispute stems from the party’s defeat in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, which ended 15 years of Mamata Banerjee’s rule. The loss triggered an internal revolt. Around 58 of the party’s newly elected MLAs broke away and installed Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition, calling themselves the “real TMC.” The TMC then expelled Ritabrata and MLA Sandipan Saha for “anti-party” activities.To be sure, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has filed a separate petition in the top court seeking expeditious disposal of the disqualification petitions against 20 rebel Members of Parliament pending before Lok Sabha Speaker.