The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Calcutta High Court order that had disqualified Mukul Roy as a member of the West Bengal legislative assembly for rejoining the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after being elected on a BJP ticket in 2021.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the assembly term ends in May and said, “Not staying this judgment will have consequences.”
The court issued notices to assembly speaker Biman Banerjee and BJP legislators Suvendu Adhikari and Ambika Roy, directing them to file responses.
The appeal was filed by Roy’s son, Subhranshu Roy, who said his father is hospitalised and argued that the speaker had rightly rejected the disqualification plea in June 2022.
The high court had overturned the speaker’s decision on November 13, relying on electronic evidence of Roy rejoining the TMC.
Staying the ruling, the Supreme Court said the high court’s reasoning contradicted its 2020 Arjun Panditrao Khotkar verdict, which mandates a Section 65B certificate for admissibility of electronic evidence.
