Supreme Court Notices 20 Rebel TMC MPs Over Disqualification Plea, Speaker Gets No Notice

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs over a petition seeking an early decision on their disqualification proceedings. The petition was filed by TMC general secretary and Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee, who has challenged the alleged delay in deciding the party's petitions against the MPs. The case was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi.

The Court had earlier indicated that a notice could also be issued to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is responsible for deciding disqualification petitions under the anti-defection law. However, the notice was not issued after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Speaker, told the bench that he would represent the Speaker in the proceedings. Mehta also informed the Court that the Speaker had already issued notices on the disqualification petitions filed against the MPs.

Justice Bagchi clarified that the central issue was not whether notices had been issued but whether the disqualification proceedings could be concluded within a specified time frame. Banerjee's petition has sought an expeditious decision on the proceedings, arguing that the delay in determining the status of the MPs needs judicial consideration. Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for Abhishek Banerjee, described the proceedings as a significant development for the Trinamool Congress and indicated that the Court was expected to set a timeline.

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The dispute stems from a rebellion within the TMC parliamentary group after 20 Lok Sabha MPs announced that they had joined or merged with the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a political outfit based in Tripura, and sought separate recognition in the Lok Sabha. The rebel MPs have subsequently been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and have participated in meetings of the National Democratic Alliance. The TMC has opposed the move and maintained that the MPs' actions attract disqualification under the anti-defection law.

The party has argued that the MPs were elected on TMC symbols and that their decision to align with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the party. The rebel MPs, however, have maintained that their move constitutes a valid merger. The petition names the Lok Sabha Speaker and Secretary General as respondents, along with the 20 MPs against whom disqualification proceedings have been sought.

The MPs named in the petition are Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Rachana Banerjee, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Arup Chakraborty, Adhikari Deepak Dev, Sayani Ghosh, Bapi Halder, Md Abu Taher Khan, Kalipada Saren Kherwal, Asit Kumar Mal, June Maliah, Mitali Bag, Khalilur Rahaman, Mala Roy, Sharmila Sarkar and Yusuf Pathan. The Supreme Court's proceedings will now focus on the request for a time-bound conclusion of the disqualification cases.

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