TMC set to move SC against 20 rebel Lok Sabha MPs over defection
Abhishek Banerjee had sought Speaker Om Birla’s early decision on disqualification pleas; party sources say petitions may be filed within 7-10 days
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress is likely to approach the Supreme Court soon against 20 rebel Lok Sabha MPs who defected from the party and aligned themselves with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), with disqualification petitions to be filed within the next seven to 10 days, sources said on Thursday.
The move comes a day after TMC Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee met Speaker Om Birla and sought an early decision on individual disqualification petitions filed against the rebel MPs.
Banerjee had on Wednesday said that if the speaker failed to decide on the petitions within the period prescribed by law and judicial directions, he would be "compelled to approach the Supreme Court and seek its intervention".
The TMC had first raised the issue with Birla in June, after filing separate petitions seeking the disqualification of the 20 MPs.
Banerjee said on Wednesday that he had again raised the matter with the speaker when the Monsoon Session began on July 20, and was asked to submit a letter.
The letter was submitted by July 26, after which Banerjee, along with senior TMC MPs Saugata Roy, Kirti Azad and Pratima Mandal, followed up with the speaker.
Despite the repeated representations, no decision was taken during the Monsoon Session, which concluded on Thursday.
The 20 MPs had rebelled against the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls. They subsequently announced their merger with the NCPI, a relatively small political outfit, while extending support to the BJP-led NDA.
The rebel group includes senior leaders such as Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Shatabdi Roy and Mitali Bagh.
They had originally been elected to the Lok Sabha on TMC's symbol.
The rebels have sought to rely on the merger provision under the anti-defection law, pointing out that they constitute more than two-thirds of TMC's 28-member Lok Sabha strength.
The 10th Schedule of the Constitution provides an exception to disqualification when the two-third members of a political party agree to merge with another party.
The TMC, however, has challenged the legality of this move and maintained that the MPs cannot simply escape disqualification by announcing a merger with another party.
The question of whether the requirements of the 10th Schedule have been met is to be adjudicated by the speaker.
Under the 10th Schedule, the speaker is the authority to decide whether a member has incurred disqualification on grounds of defection.
The Supreme Court has, however, held that the speaker exercises a judicial or tribunal-like function while deciding such petitions and that the decision is subject to judicial review.
The apex court has subsequently reiterated that the speaker is the appropriate constitutional authority to decide disqualification petitions in the first instance, but must act fairly, independently and impartially.
In its 2023 judgment in the Maharashtra political crisis case, the court said the speaker must decide such petitions within a reasonable period and that the speaker's decision remains amenable to judicial review.
The Supreme Court in a subsequent case has directed a speaker to conclude disqualification proceedings within three months, underscoring that prolonged inaction cannot be allowed to frustrate the purpose of the anti-defection law. PTI