Kolkata, October 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Veteran Trinamool Congress leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay on Friday approached the Supreme Court seeking the disqualification of 10 rebel MLAs led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, alleging that the West Bengal Assembly Speaker has failed to decide the matter.
The petition names Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose as a respondent for not taking a decision on the disqualification plea, while the 10 MLAs have also been named as respondents. The matter is likely to come up for hearing next week.
This is the second time Chattopadhyay has approached the apex court over the issue. In September, he had moved the Supreme Court seeking the disqualification of the 10 legislators.
During the hearing on September 28, the Supreme Court said that any application submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker in this regard should be decided within three months. The court expressed hope that the Speaker would comply with the timeline.
The original disqualification petition was submitted to the Speaker on behalf of the Mamata Banerjee-led faction on July 8, setting October 8 as the three-month deadline. However, as no decision has been announced, the matter has once again been brought before the Supreme Court.
Besides Ritabrata Banerjee and former Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim, the MLAs facing disqualification proceedings are Sandipan Saha, Arup Roy, Shiuli Saha, Akhtaruzzaman, Sabina Yasmin, Rathin Ghosh, Biplob Mitra and Javed Ahmed Khan.
The Principal Secretary of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has also been named as a party in the case.
Chattopadhyay is seeking the disqualification of the 10 legislators under the Anti-Defection Act.
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