Veteran Trinamool Congress leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay on Friday approached the Supreme Court seeking the disqualification of 10 rebel MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee. The 10 MLAs whose disqualification is sought include Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee and former Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor Firhad Hakim, IANS reported from Kolkata.

Source: IANS via Hi India

The petition names Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose and the Principal Secretary of the Legislative Assembly as respondents alongside the 10 MLAs, accusing the Speaker of failing to decide on the disqualification petitions pending since July 8. The other MLAs named are Sandipan Saha, Arup Roy, Shiuli Saha, Akhtaruzzaman, Sabina Yasmin, Rathin Ghosh, Biplob Mitra and Javed Ahmed Khan. The matter is likely to come up for hearing next week, and Chattopadhyay is seeking disqualification under the anti-defection law.

Source: Nation Press

Second approach after the October 8 deadline lapsed

This is the second time Chattopadhyay has moved the apex court on the issue. In September he had sought dismissal of the same 10 rebel MLAs, and at the September 28 hearing the Supreme Court said a disqualification application before the Speaker must be disposed of within three months — which in this case ran to October 8. With no decision announced by the Speaker yet, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction has returned to the apex court.

The Trinamool camp alleges the 10 legislators contested on TMC tickets and then rebelled against the party's interests, warranting action under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. These are allegations in a pending proceeding, not findings — no court has ruled that any of the 10 MLAs should be disqualified. The rebel camp has previously dismissed the disqualification push as politically motivated, calling Assembly Secretariat notices routine procedure.