Supreme Court issues notices to 20 rebel TMC MPs in disqualification plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 25) issued notices to 20 rebel MPs in response to Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee’s plea seeking their disqualification.

The apex court agreed to take up the plea, which also sought a time-bound decision from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on disqualification petitions against 20 rebel party MPs. The MPs have aligned themselves with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

Supreme Court seeks MPs’ response

The development comes after Banerjee had informed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla multiple times in the past seeking the disqualification of 20 rebel MPs.

During the hearing today, the bench Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said, “It is not a question of issuing notices; it is a question of concluding the proceedings within a time frame."

Also Read: TMC set to move SC against 20 rebel Lok Sabha MPs over defection

However, the court declined to issue notice to the Speaker’s office and the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that he was appearing for them. The case will come up for hearing after two weeks.

A similar matter is pending before the Supreme Court. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has challenged the Speaker’s approval of the merger of its six MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe are hearing that case.

Banerjee urges time-bound action

Banerjee’s petition alleges that action on the disqualification proceedings has been delayed. He has asked the Speaker to decide the petitions under the Constitution’s anti-defection provisions.

Also Read: TMC rebel MPs join NCPI to back NDA while also skirting legal hurdles

Banerjee had earlier filed separate petitions against the 20 MPs before asking the Speaker to expedite their disposal without further procedural delay in the matter.

According to reports, he also met Birla on August 12 over the issue after sending a written reminder on July 27.

Rebel MPs' merger claim

The dispute follows a rebellion within the TMC parliamentary party after 20 of its Lok Sabha MPs announced that they had joined or merged with the NCPI, a Tripura-based political outfit, and sought separate recognition in the House.

The rebel MPs have subsequently been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and have participated in NDA parliamentary activities.

Also Read: Separate seats, unresolved loyalties: Speaker's TMC call defers real constitutional question

The TMC has maintained that the MPs were elected on its symbol and that their decision to align with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up party membership, attracting disqualification under the anti-defection law.

The rebel camp, however, has maintained that its move constitutes a valid merger.

20 MPs named in plea

The petition names the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Secretary General as respondents, besides the 20 MPs against whom the disqualification proceedings have been sought.

The MPs named in the petition are Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Rachana Banerjee, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Arup Chakraborty, Adhikari Deepak Dev, Sayani Ghosh, Bapi Haldar, Md Abu Taher Khan, Kalipada Saren Kherwal, Asit Kumar Mal, June Maliah, Mitali Bag, Khalilur Rahaman, Mala Roy, Sharmila Sarkar and Yusuf Pathan.

(With agency inputs)