SC agrees to hear Abhishek Banerjee plea on disqualification of 20 rebel TMC MPs

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs. The notice came on a plea by party leader Abhishek Banerjee for an expeditious decision on their disqualification by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to hear the plea.

The court did not issue notice to Birla though he was the first respondent. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench he would appear on behalf of the Speaker, and said Birla had already issued notices on the disqualification petitions.

Justice Bagchi said the court was concerned with concluding the proceedings within a time frame. "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," he said.

Banerjee challenged the delay in deciding the disqualification proceedings. He had earlier filed separate petitions against each of the 20 MPs and urged the Speaker to expedite their disposal. He met Birla on August 12 after sending a written reminder on July 27.

The dispute follows a rebellion in the TMC parliamentary party. Twenty of its Lok Sabha MPs announced that they had joined or merged with the NCPI, a Tripura-based outfit, and sought separate recognition in the House. The rebel MPs have since been treated as an NCPI group and have taken part in NDA parliamentary activities. They were allotted separate seats in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session.

The TMC has maintained that the MPs were elected on its symbol. Their decision to align with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up party membership, it has said, attracting disqualification under the anti-defection law. The rebel camp has maintained that the move constitutes a valid merger.

The top court is also seized of a similar plea by the Shiv Sena (UBT). It challenges the Speaker's approval to the merger of its six MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe is hearing that petition.

The petition names the Lok Sabha speaker and the secretary general as respondents besides the 20 MPs. They include Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Sayani Ghosh, Deepak Dev Adhikari and Yusuf Pathan, among others. The matter is listed for further hearing on August 26.