At present, Mr Roy is undergoing treatment at a hospital
Kolkata: In a historic verdict, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday disqualified former railway minister Mukul Roy as Krishnanagar North MLA for his defection from BJP to Trinamul Congress four years ago. This is the first such instance under the anti-defection law in the state and probably also in the country.
A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi of the HC passed Mr Roy's disqualification order after hearing a writ petition filed by leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari seeking the BJP MLA’s removal from the House.
Mr Roy, the order stated, “is declared to have become disqualified in terms of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India and the Rules of 1986 with effect from June 11, 2021" while setting aside his nomination as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman of the Assembly.
At present, Mr Roy is undergoing treatment at a hospital. With his disqualification, the Krishnanagar North assembly seat in Nadia falls vacant now. It will not however go to a bypoll as barely six months have been left for the Assembly Election in the state.
Mr Roy had defected to TMC, in a comeback to his old party following his exit in November of 2017, in presence of its supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on June 11 in 2021 days after winning as a BJP MLA in the Assembly polls. Within a month, he however became the PAC chairman, a post allotted to an MLA from the main opposition party.
Mr Adhikari demanded his disqualification which was rejected by Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee after conducting an anti-defection law proceeding. Mr Banerjee certified that Mr Roy was still in the BJP as the PAC chairman. The Nandigram BJP MLA then challenged the decision at the HC and won.
Calling the judgment ‘landmark’ and ‘historic’, he posted on X-handle, “Ultimately truth triumphs though it may be a little delayed. The Hon’ble Court vide its Judgment while preserving sanctity of the Constitution especially the Tenth Schedule also has left no second thought about the partisan attitude of the Hon’ble Speaker in deciding defection cases.”
While TMC has remained silent, Mr Banerjee said, “I will examine the HC order from all angles before commenting on it. There are some controversial issues in it. According to Article 212 of the Constitution, the Assembly Speaker has a protection which can not be interfered with.”
