Kolkata, Sept. 28 -- The Supreme Court on Monday asked the West Bengal Assembly Speaker to decide within three months on a set of petitions seeking disqualification of 10 rebel Trinamool MLAs under the anti-defection law.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, disposed of a petition by Trinamool MLA Sohandeb Chattopadhyay seeking an early decision on the disqualification pleas.
The petitions were submitted before the Speaker on July 8, meaning the three months referred to by the court will end on October 8.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Chattopadhyay, told the court that delays in deciding such petitions could have wider political consequences, referring to instances where breakaway groups subsequently sought recognition as the real political party. While the court did not itself decide the disqualification issue, it expressed confidence that the Speaker was aware of the principles laid down in the earlier judgment and would make every effort to decide the petitions within the stipulated period.
The 10 MLAs named in the pleas are Arup Roy, Ritabrata Banerjee, Firad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Seuli Saha, Akhruzzaman, Sabina Yeasmin, Rathin Ghosh, Biplab Mitra and Javed Ahmed Khan.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.