Supreme Court urges West Bengal Speaker to decide on 10 MLA disqualifications by October 8

The Supreme Court of India has expressed its expectation that the Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly will decide on disqualification petitions against 10 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs by October 8. The petitions, filed on July 8, involve allegations of defection under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

The legal matter arose from a writ petition filed by TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, representing the faction led by Mamata Banerjee. The petition sought an expedited decision to prevent breakaway groups from claiming leadership of the party legislature group. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, noted that according to previous judicial guidelines, such disqualification cases should ordinarily be decided within a three-month period.

The 10 MLAs facing disqualification include Arup Roy, Ritabrata Banerjee, Firad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Seuli Saha, Akrhruzzaman, Sabina Yeasmin, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra, and Javed Ahmad Khan. The court disposed of the petition after recording its hope that the Speaker would endeavor to reach a decision within the specified timeframe.