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Calcutta High Court Disqualifies Mukul Roy Over 2021 Defection

The judgment asserts court oversight of anti-defection cases by applying the Tenth Schedule to Roy’s public switch to the TMC in 2021.

Overview

  • A division bench declared Roy disqualified as an MLA with retrospective effect from June 11, 2021, under the Tenth Schedule.
  • The court set aside Speaker Biman Banerjee’s 2022 refusal to disqualify Roy, calling it perverse and based on the wrong legal standard.
  • Roy’s nomination as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee was quashed, noting the post is customarily held by the opposition.
  • The order followed petitions by Suvendu Adhikari and BJP MLA Ambika Roy, with evidence including Roy’s June 11, 2021 TMC press conference.
  • The Krishnanagar North seat now stands vacant, a bypoll is viewed as unlikely with state elections near, and the Speaker said he will study the ruling as defectors in other states take notice.