Kolkata, August 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Calcutta High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh, who had alleged that his right to speak as a legislator was being suppressed during proceedings of the West Bengal Assembly.
A single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao held that courts cannot interfere in the internal functioning and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly and ruled that Ghosh’s petition was not maintainable.
The court advised Ghosh to approach West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose with his grievances.
Ghosh, a former journalist-turned-politician, had alleged that he was repeatedly denied an opportunity to speak on the floor of the House and claimed that his name was not included in the list of speakers during the recently concluded extended Budget session of the Assembly.
He had accused the faction led by expelled Trinamool Congress legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, who is currently the official Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, of attempting to silence his voice in the Assembly.
Ghosh is associated with the “original but minority” faction of the Trinamool Congress, which continues to support former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. A majority of Trinamool legislators are aligned with the “rebel but majority” faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
During the extended Budget session, Ghosh had a heated exchange with Akhruzzaman, the Chief Whip of the Ritabrata-led faction. The incident led to disruption in the House, following which Ghosh was marshalled out of the Assembly and suspended for the day.
Subsequently, he approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking judicial intervention over his allegations of being denied a chance to speak.
During Friday’s hearing, Ghosh’s counsel sought a judicial review of the matter. However, counsel appearing for the Assembly opposed the plea, arguing that the petition was not maintainable and pointing out that Ghosh had been given an opportunity to speak in June.
“There are 294 legislators. Everyone has to be given a chance to speak. How could the court regulate which MLAs could speak and which MLAs could not?” the Assembly counsel argued.
Justice Rao ultimately declined to entertain the plea for judicial review, observing that the court had no role in regulating internal Assembly proceedings.
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