Calcutta High Court Dismisses Plea Against Rebel TMC MLA’s Appointment as Leader of Opposition

The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a request for an interim order challenging the appointment of Ritabrata Banerjee, an ousted member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The decision was made on Thursday by Justice Krishna Rao, who was considering a petition submitted by senior TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, a close associate of the party’s chairperson, Mamata Banerjee.

The court’s decision arrives amidst internal strife within the TMC following its recent electoral defeat in the State Assembly elections. Justice Krishna Rao noted that there was no prima facie case supporting the petitioner’s argument, thereby denying the interim order. “The interim order is refused,” stated the Bench.

The court directed the respondents to submit their responses to the petition within a three-week timeframe and scheduled the next hearing for July 28. The controversy began after the West Bengal Assembly election results were announced on May 4. TMC MLAs convened a meeting on May 6, during which Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay was nominated as the LoP, a decision subsequently communicated to the Speaker’s office.

However, the Speaker, Rathindra Bose, requested the resolution and minutes from the legislative party’s meeting. Following another meeting on May 19, the necessary documents were forwarded to the Speaker. Despite this, the Speaker chose to recognize Ritabrata Banerjee as the LoP, allegedly based on support from a faction of rebel TMC MLAs, prompting Chattopadhyay to file a writ petition challenging the decision.

On June 17, the court observed that the Speaker seemed “keen” to accept the rebel MLAs’ decision to appoint their preferred candidate as LoP, contrary to the TMC’s official nominee. In deliberations on interim reliefs, the court dismissed the argument that Ritabrata Banerjee’s expulsion from the TMC was irrelevant, emphasizing the importance of the party’s internal decisions.

“You cannot say no consequences once one party is telling that it is expelled member and it has been intimated to the Speaker, and (then) the Speaker is appointing the same person,” the Bench remarked.

Representing the petitioner, Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay presented the case, while Additional Advocate General Bilwadal Bhattacharya appeared on behalf of the Governor. Senior Advocate Jaydip Kar represented MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Akhruzzaman in the proceedings.