Who should hurry up a Speaker’s decision on rebel MLAs disqualification? For now, the Supreme Court says, the Calcutta High Court, whose Chief Justice it has requested to place Trinamool Congress MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay’s plea before a Division Bench for an expeditious decision.
New Delhi: Pointing the petitioner to the High Court, the Supreme Court on Thursday, November 5, 2026, disposed of a fresh petition by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay seeking expeditious adjudication of disqualification petitions against 10 legislators of the party’s breakaway faction, granting him liberty to move the Calcutta High Court [Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay v. Speaker, West Bengal Legislative Assembly].
The order came from a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. It held that the High Court was the appropriate forum at this stage, and requested the High Court’s Chief Justice to list the matter before a Division Bench for expeditious hearing and disposal.
A party split and 10 petitions
The disqualification petitions concern 10 MLAs who contested the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections on TMC tickets and are alleged by the petitioner to have defected. They are Ritabrata Banerjee, Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Sandipan Saha, Akhruzzaman, Seuli Saha, Sabina Yeasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Ahmad Khan and Rathin Ghosh.
Behind the dispute is a split in the TMC after the 2026 Assembly elections, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party won a majority. A group led by Ritabrata Banerjee claims the support of 58 MLAs and asserts that it is the real TMC. The Speaker has recognised Banerjee as Leader of Opposition. Chattopadhyay, nominated by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, has challenged that recognition before the Calcutta High Court, where a Division Bench declined interim relief, allowing Banerjee to continue pending the challenge.
What Chattopadhyay wanted
His petition challenged the West Bengal Assembly Speaker’s orders of October 8, 2026, issuing notices in the disqualification proceedings, and sought the Court’s intervention over the failure to decide the petitions within the time indicated earlier by the Supreme Court.
His counsel submitted that the disqualification petitions were filed on July 8 and that nearly five months had passed without a decision, although the Court had earlier expressed the expectation that the Speaker would decide them by October 8. The Bench, however, took the view that the remedy at this stage lay before the High Court.
That earlier expectation came on September 28, when a Bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana disposed of Chattopadhyay’s earlier petition. It noted that the three-month period contemplated in Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly would end on October 8 and expressed confidence that the Speaker would endeavour to decide the petitions within that time.
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The line the Bench recorded
In its order, the Bench said:
“It seems to us that the appropriate recourse at this stage would be to approach the Calcutta High Court. We dispose of the petition at this stage with liberty to the petitioner to file an appropriate petition before the High Court. We request the Chief Justice of the High Court to place before a division who shall decide the matter expeditiously.”
The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether any of the 10 MLAs has incurred disqualification. The defection allegations are disputed by the rebel faction, which claims to be the real party, and remain to be decided by the Speaker, whose decision is open to judicial review.
What the order changes
The immediate fight over the Speaker’s pace now moves from the Supreme Court to the Calcutta High Court, which has been asked to treat it as urgent. In anti-defection cases, the timing of a Speaker’s decision can shape legislative strength and parallel claims to a party’s name and leadership, which is why both factions are closely watching how quickly the pending petitions are decided.
Case Title: Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay v. Speaker, West Bengal Legislative Assembly (verify)
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi
Date of Order: November 5, 2026
Status: Petition disposed of with liberty to approach the Calcutta High Court; Chief Justice of the High Court requested to place the matter before a Division Bench for expeditious decision
