- Calcutta High Court declined interim relief on LoP appointment.
- Court directs affidavits, hears LoP appointment dispute July 28.
- Speaker appointed rebel MLA LoP, challenged by Trinamool Congress.
- Forged signature allegations probed, complicating LoP appointment battle.
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday dealt a setback to Mamata Banerjee’s camp after it declined to grant interim relief in the ongoing dispute over the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, effectively allowing Assembly Speaker Rathindra Basu’s decision to appoint rebel Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee to continue for now.
Justice Krishna Rao, hearing a petition filed by senior Trinamool Congress leader Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay, said no interim order would be passed at this stage and directed all parties to complete the exchange of affidavits before the matter is taken up again.
The court asked respondents to file their affidavits-in-opposition within two weeks and directed the petitioner to submit a reply thereafter. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 28.
Rival Claims Over Opposition Leader’s Post
The controversy stems from competing claims within the Trinamool Congress over who should be recognised as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
While the party leadership faction backed Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the post, a group of rebel TMC MLAs proposed Ritabrata Banerjee’s name. Speaker Rathindra Basu accepted Banerjee’s nomination and subsequently recognised him as the Leader of Opposition.
Chattopadhyay challenged the Speaker’s decision before the High Court, arguing that the appointment was not in line with the party’s official position.
Reacting to Thursday’s order, TMC MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee said the High Court had admitted the petition but declined to stay the Speaker’s decision.
“The court has not passed any interim order but has accepted the petition. Now, the final hearing in this matter will take place,” Banerjee said.
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Court Examined Speaker’s Powers
During an earlier hearing, Justice Rao had sought clarification on the Speaker’s role when rival factions of the same political party submit different names for recognition.
The court questioned whether the Speaker could take a decision on his own in such circumstances or whether both sides should first be given an opportunity to present their case.
Appearing for the Speaker, advocate Bilwadal Bhattacharya argued that the West Bengal Legislative Assembly (Salaries and Allowances of Members) Act, 1937, empowers the Speaker to recognise the leader of the largest opposition party in the House.
He further submitted that any dispute relating to the strength of a party or the identity of its leader falls within the Speaker’s jurisdiction and that the Speaker’s decision is “final and conclusive.”
Forged Signature Allegations Under Probe
The leadership dispute has also become entangled in a separate controversy involving alleged forged signatures on documents submitted in support of Chattopadhyay’s candidature.
According to allegations, signatures of several MLAs appeared on a proposal forwarded by TMC general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee backing Chattopadhyay for the post.
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Ritabrata Banerjee and MLA Sandipan Saha were among the first to challenge the authenticity of the signatures and lodged complaints regarding the matter.
Following the complaints, the Assembly Secretary filed an FIR, prompting the West Bengal CID to launch a formal investigation.
Officials are currently recording statements of MLAs whose names appear on the disputed documents and collecting signature samples as part of the probe.
The outcome of both the High Court proceedings and the CID investigation is expected to have a significant bearing on the political battle over the Leader of Opposition’s post in the West Bengal Assembly.
