The Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused interim relief against the West Bengal Assembly Speaker’s decision to recognise expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition. Justice Krishna Rao heard Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay’s plea challenging the appointment, citing party recommendation issues.
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to grant any interim relief against the decision of West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose to recognise expelled Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly.
A single bench of Justice Krishna Rao was hearing a writ petition filed by senior TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who is considered to be aligned with party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Chattopadhyay had challenged the Speaker’s decision, arguing that the appointment of Ritabrata Banerjee was contrary to the party’s official recommendation.
The Court’s refusal to grant interim protection comes amid growing internal differences within the TMC following its defeat in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections. The political dispute over the LoP post has highlighted the divisions within the party and raised questions regarding the authority of the Speaker in recognising the opposition leader.
While considering the plea, Justice Krishna Rao observed that the petitioner had not been able to establish a prima facie case at this stage. The Bench consequently declined to interfere with the Speaker’s decision and stated, “The interim order is refused.”
The High Court directed the respondents to submit their replies to the petition within three weeks and scheduled the matter for further hearing on July 28.
The dispute traces back to the aftermath of the West Bengal Assembly election results, which were declared on May 4. According to the petition, a meeting of TMC legislators was held on May 6, where Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay was chosen as the party’s nominee for the post of Leader of Opposition. The decision was subsequently conveyed to the office of the Assembly Speaker.
However, the Speaker reportedly sought additional documents, including the resolution and minutes of the legislative party meeting, before taking a final decision. Following this, the TMC legislative party is said to have convened another meeting on May 19, after which the relevant documents, including the resolution and attendance sheet, were submitted to the Speaker.
Despite these communications, Chattopadhyay alleged that the Speaker did not consider the party’s official nomination and instead recognised Ritabrata Banerjee as the LoP based on support claimed to have been extended by a group of rebel TMC legislators.
Ritabrata Banerjee’s appointment became controversial after he was expelled from the TMC. The party argued that once his expulsion had been communicated to the Speaker, he could not be considered as the official opposition leader representing the party’s legislative position.
Chattopadhyay subsequently approached the Calcutta High Court, challenging the Speaker’s decision and seeking judicial intervention.
During an earlier hearing on June 17, the Court had questioned the circumstances under which the Speaker accepted the decision of rebel TMC MLAs while ignoring the party’s officially selected candidate for the post. The Bench had remarked that the Speaker appeared to have been “keen” to accept the choice made by the rebel faction.
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The Court had also rejected the argument that Ritabrata Banerjee’s expulsion from the TMC was merely an internal party issue with no legal relevance. The Bench observed that the expulsion could have consequences once the party had formally informed the Speaker about it.
The Court had stated,
“You cannot say no consequences once one party is telling that it is expelled member and it has been intimated to the Speaker, and (then) the Speaker is appointing the same person.”
During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay appeared for Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay. Additional Advocate General Bilwadal Bhattacharya represented the Governor, while Senior Advocate Jaydip Kar appeared for Ritabrata Banerjee and MLA Akhruzzaman.
The matter will now be considered further after the respondents file their replies before the High Court.
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