New Delhi, Jan. 17 -- The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Calcutta high court order that had disqualified Mukul Roy as a member of the West Bengal legislative assembly for defecting from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). Roy was elected as an MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar constituency on BJP ticket in May 2021, but joined the ruling TMC in June that year while retaining his MLA status. State Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP MLA Ambika Roy then sought his disqualification, but Speaker Biman Banerjee rejected their pleas, ruling that the video evidence of Roy joining the TMC could not be authenticated under Section 65B of the Evidence Act. On November 13 last year, the high court reversed this and disqualified Roy under the anti-defection law. Calling the speaker's decision "perverse", the HC had argued that a 65B certificate was not a mandatory prerequisite for deciding disqualification under the Tenth Schedule. Roy's son Subhranshu Roy challenged the order in the Supreme Court. Hearing the matter on Friday, the bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed the HC order and sought responses from Banerjee, Adhikari and Ambika Roy. "Issue notice. Let the counter affidavit be filed in four weeks and rejoinder in response within two weeks. Meanwhile, the operation of the HC judgment may be stayed," it said. Roy's son, who was represented by advocate Preetika Dwivedi, told the top court that the Speaker rejected the disqualification pleas as the video evidence could not be authenticated in terms of Section 65B certificate. She said the HC held that such a certificate was not necessary while deciding the disqualification plea under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The bench remarked, "In today's age where there is Artificial Intelligence, we do not know whose face is there. If there is electronic evidence, it has to be tested." TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said: "The SC's decision is primarily humanitarian. The court said revocation of his membership may cause extreme difficulty to foot the medical bills. The stay order has practically little or no long-term effect as his membership will automatically end in a couple of months." The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Telangana Assembly speaker to apprise it in two weeks on the status of adjudication of disqualification pleas against BRS MLAs, who had defected to the ruling Congress. "We are giving you two weeks. Finish it by then. After two weeks, we will fix the matter to see the progress made in the matter," a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and AG Masih said....