Supreme Court urges West Bengal Assembly Speaker to decide disqualification petitions within October 8
The Supreme Court has asked the Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly to take a decision on disqualification petitions against 10 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs by October 8, 2026.
The matter was brought before the Supreme Court by senior TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who sought an early decision on petitions filed against members of a rival faction of the party. The Assembly Secretariat had earlier issued notices to the 10 MLAs, asking them to respond to the disqualification petitions.
The dispute is connected to an internal split within the TMC after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The rival groups have made competing claims over the leadership of the TMC Legislature Party and the position of Leader of the Opposition.
The Calcutta High Court had earlier examined the dispute surrounding the recognition of the rival faction. Court records show that the Speaker recognised a group backed by 58 of the 80 elected TMC MLAs as the principal opposition group and recognised its nominees as Leader of the Opposition and Chief Whip. That decision was challenged by the other faction.
The disqualification petitions are based on allegations under the anti-defection law. The petitioners have argued that the cases should be decided within the time frame laid down by earlier Supreme Court judgments.
During the Supreme Court proceedings, the bench considered the request for an expedited decision but stopped short of directly taking over the Speaker’s constitutional role. Instead, the court recorded its expectation that the Speaker would endeavour to decide the pending disqualification matters by October 8. The Supreme Court subsequently disposed of Chattopadhyay’s petition after recording this expectation.
The issue is significant because decisions under the anti-defection provisions can affect the strength and functioning of political groups inside a state legislature. A decision on the 10 MLAs could therefore have implications for the continuing dispute within the TMC Legislature Party.
The case also comes against the background of an earlier dispute over the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition. In its August judgment, the Calcutta High Court’s division bench said the Speaker’s decision could be subject to judicial review where alleged procedural illegality goes to the root of the matter. At the same time, it did not stop the Speaker’s decision from operating, instead treating the appointments as provisional for a limited period.
The 10 MLAs who received notices are now required to respond to the disqualification proceedings. The Speaker will have to consider the petitions, the responses of the concerned legislators and the applicable constitutional and legal provisions before reaching a decision.
The Supreme Court’s latest intervention places a clear time frame around the next stage of the dispute, with October 8 emerging as the date by which the Speaker is expected to take up and decide the pending matters.