New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs following a writ petition filed by Abhishek Banerjee.
Abhishek, the party’s general secretary and Lok Sabha leader, sought directions from the top court for an expeditious decision on the disqualification petitions pending before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
However, no notice was issued to Birla, who was named as the first respondent in the petition.
While hearing the matter on Tuesday, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana indicated that it was inclined to issue a notice to Birla also, but Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta stepped in to say that he would appear on behalf of the Lok Sabha Speaker.
The SG also submitted that he has instructions to say that Birla had issued notices on the disqualification petitions.
“We are not to pass any order against a constitutional authority, but to ensure that it is done in a timely manner. That is the most important,” Justice Bagchi said.
Justice Bagchi further said that the question was not about issuing notices but “concluding the proceedings within a time frame”.
The MPs in question had won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on TMC tickets but merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) after the Mamata Banerjee-led party lost the West Bengal Assembly elections held in in April.
The rebel MPs, who pledged their support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, were allotted separate seats in Lok Sabha during the recent in the recent Monsoon session.
TMC, on the other hand, has sought rebel MPs’ disqualification under the anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule of the Constitution). Abhishek earlier submitted separate disqualification petitions before the Lok Sabha Speaker, urging for their swift dismissal.