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Calcutta High Court Order Stands: Bengal Assembly Won't Challenge Mukul Roy Ruling

The West Bengal Assembly Secretariat has decided not to challenge a Calcutta High Court order that struck down Mukul Roy's membership. Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay stated the initiative should have come from Roy's son, who was a party in the case. The court's division bench had cancelled Roy's membership and overturned the Speaker's earlier refusal to do so. This comes as West Bengal heads towards crucial assembly elections next year, with no bypoll planned for Roy's vacant seat.

Key Points: Bengal Assembly Won't Appeal Calcutta HC Order on Mukul Roy

  • Assembly Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay confirms the secretariat will not appeal the court's decision
  • The decision follows legal advice and cites Roy's son as a party to the case
  • The Calcutta HC division bench cancelled Roy's membership and quashed the Speaker's earlier order
  • No bypoll will be held for Roy's Krishnanagar seat ahead of crucial state elections
3 min read

Bengal Assembly Secretariat not to challenge Calcutta HC order on Mukul Roy

West Bengal Assembly Secretariat decides against challenging the Calcutta High Court order that struck down Mukul Roy's membership, citing his son as the party to the case.

"Hence, the State Assembly Secretariat will not take any initiative in the matter. - Assembly Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay"

Kolkata, Dec 18

The West Bengal Assembly Secretariat said on Thursday that it will not challenge the order by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court's order last month striking down the membership of Mukul Roy with the state Assembly.

The decision has been taken after consultation with the legal analysts who advised not to challenge the decision of the Calcutta High Court before the Supreme Court.

Confirming this decision of not challenging the Calcutta High Court's order, the West Bengal Assembly Speaker, Biman Bandyopadhyay, told media persons on Thursday afternoon that since Mukul Roy's son, Subhrangshu Roy, also a former member of the West Bengal Assembly, was a party in the case at the Calcutta High Court, the initiative of challenging the court order should have been on his part.

"Hence, the State Assembly Secretariat will not take any initiative in the matter," the Assembly Speaker said.

On November 13, the Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi cancelled Mukul Roy's membership from the House.

The division bench also quashed the order passed by the Speaker of the House Biman Bandyopadhyay earlier, refusing to cancel the membership of Roy from the state Assembly.

However, considering that West Bengal is heading for the crucial Assembly elections next year, there will be no bypoll in Krishnanagar (Uttar) Assembly constituency during the interim period.

Mukul Roy, the former Trinamool Congress General Secretary, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the 2021 West Bengal elections and also successfully contested as a BJP candidate in Krishnanagar (Uttar) Assembly constituency in Nadia district of West Bengal.

However, he joined Trinamool Congress just days after the Assembly poll results were declared and Trinamool Congress came to power for the third consecutive term with a massive majority.

However, he did not resign as a member of the State Assembly and officially continued as a BJP legislator there.

Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay rejected the BJP's plea for the cancellation of Roy's membership from the Assembly.

The Speaker said that since Roy was officially a BJP candidate, his membership could not be cancelled.

Roy was even made the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House, a post which is traditionally offered to an MLA from the principal opposition party in the Assembly.

Thereafter, the BJP approached the Calcutta High Court seeking the cancellation of Roy's membership from the House as a legislator from the Krishnanagar (Uttar) Assembly constituency.

After a prolonged hearing in the matter, finally on Thursday, Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi finally cancelled Roy's membership from the House.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priyanka N
Typical political drama in Bengal 🤦‍♀️. Mukul Roy played both sides. Now the Secretariat says the son should appeal? Sounds like they are passing the buck. The law is clear on defection. The High Court order is correct.
R
Rohit P
Practical decision by the Secretariat not to appeal. Why waste public money on a lost case? The legal advice seems sound. Focus should be on governance, not prolonged legal battles over one seat, especially with elections next year.
A
Anjali F
The whole episode is embarrassing for our democracy. Making him PAC Chairman while he had technically defected? That was a mockery of parliamentary norms. Glad the court has cleaned this up. Hope politicians learn some ethics.
K
Karthik V
While I agree with the court's decision, the Speaker's reasoning for not appealing is weak. Shifting responsibility to the son is not a good look. The Secretariat should own its decisions transparently. This just creates more confusion.
M
Michael C
Following this from outside India. It's interesting to see the anti-defection law in action. The court's intervention seems necessary when the Speaker's office fails to act. A strong judiciary is crucial for any democracy.

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