Decide on Mukul Roy's Disqualification by Feb 2nd Week: SC to WB Speaker

The Supreme Court in November had told the Speaker to expeditiously decide on Roy's disqualification.

File photo of TMC leader Mukul Roy used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: IANS)

The Supreme Court on Monday, 17 January, said that it expects the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker to take a call on the disqualification plea against Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy by the second week of February.

Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari had in June 2021 filed a petition before the Speaker, seeking the disqualification of Roy as a member of the Assembly, on the grounds of his defection to the TMC. BJP MLA Ambika Roy had in July advanced a plea challenging Mukul Roy’s election as chairman of the public accounts committee (PAC), and had prayed for the nomination of an Opposition member to the post.

A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and BV Nagarathna on Monday heard a special leave petition (SLP) moved by the Speaker against a Calcutta High Court order, which had told the Speaker to consider Roy's disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, as per LiveLaw.

In September 2021, the Calcutta High Court had asked the Speaker to take a call on the disqualification of the TMC leader by 7 October, saying that a failure to do so would mean that the court would take a decision on the plea submitted by BJP MP Ambika Roy, news agency IANS reported.

"We will give them two weeks. List it for the second week of February. We are not recording it Mr Singhvi but make sure that in the meantime it is complete," the bench orally told the counsel of the state Assembly on Monday, LiveLaw reported.

In November, the Supreme Court had directed the Speaker to expeditiously decide on the plea seeking the disqualification of Roy from the Assembly. The bench had orally expressed concern over delays in taking calls on the disqualification of defecting legislators under the anti-defection laws.

(With inputs from IANS and LiveLaw)