Supreme Court Issues Notice on TMC Leader Abhishek Banerjee’s Plea Regarding Rebel MPs

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a petition filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee, who is seeking a time-bound decision on disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law against 20 rebel party MPs.

The petition centers around a dispute that arose after the 20 Lok Sabha MPs announced their alignment with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a Tripura-based political outfit, and sought separate recognition in the House. Following the move, the rebel MPs have been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and have participated in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentary activities.

The TMC maintains that since these lawmakers were elected on the party's symbol, their decision to align with another political formation constitutes voluntarily giving up party membership. Such actions, according to the party, attract disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Conversely, the rebel camp contends that their move constituted a valid merger.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, issued notices to the Lok Sabha Secretary General and the 20 lawmakers in question. The petitioner had sought a time-bound resolution on the matter, noting that he had previously met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on August 12 after sending a written reminder on July 27.

During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Speaker, who is arraigned as the first respondent in the petition, and argued against the need to issue a formal notice to a constitutional authority. While Justice Bagchi noted that the Speaker acts as a tribunal during Tenth Schedule proceedings and that the office's status as a constitutional authority should be respected, Mehta prevailed by stating he was personally present in the courtroom to represent the Speaker.

Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing the TMC leader, maintained that formal notices were required because other respondents were also arraigned in the petition. The court ultimately proceeded to issue notices to the Secretary General and the listed MPs, including Kakori Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Rachana Banerjee, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Arup Chakraborty, Adhikari Deepak Dev, Sayani Ghosh, Bapi Haldar, Md Abu Taher Khan, Kalipada Saren Kherwal, Asit Kumar Mal, June Maliah, Mitali Bag, Khalilur Rahaman, Mala Roy, Sharmila Sarkar, and Yusuf Pathan.

"Regulatory clarity and timely governance are critical for stability, whether in corporate boardrooms or legislative institutions. When governance processes experience delays, it creates uncertainty for all stakeholders involved. Establishing clear timelines for institutional decisions helps maintain operational continuity and reinforces trust in established legal frameworks." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes