SC Defers Fixed Deadline for TMC MPs’ Disqualification
Rebel MPs get four weeks to file replies; matter to be heard after the response period
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Sept: The Supreme Court on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, declined to prescribe a specific timeline for Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to complete disqualification proceedings against 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a petition filed by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who has sought a time-bound decision on the disqualification pleas under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
During the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Speaker, to submit a timeline for the proceedings. Mehta urged the court not to fix a schedule for the Speaker, arguing that Supreme Court monitoring was not necessary.
Senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Maninder Singh, appearing for the rebel MPs, submitted that the three-month period referred to in the Keshab Meghachandra Singh versus Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly case applied where there was “complete inaction” by the Speaker.
Four weeks granted for replies
The Bench asked when the rebel MPs would file their replies to the notices issued in the disqualification proceedings.
Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing Abhishek Banerjee, said the MPs had already been given six weeks and had sought another four weeks.
The court recorded the MPs’ intention to file their replies within four weeks and posted the matter for hearing after the period expires.
Justice Bagchi described the Speaker’s role under the Tenth Schedule as “amphibious”, involving responsibilities both as the presiding officer of the House and as a tribunal under the anti-defection law.
Dispute follows MPs’ alignment with NCPI
The proceedings stem from a dispute involving 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs who announced that they had joined or merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a Tripura-based political outfit, and sought separate recognition in the Lok Sabha.
The rebel MPs were subsequently treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and participated in NDA parliamentary activities, according to the material before the court.
The TMC has argued that the MPs were elected on the party’s symbol and that their decision to align with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the party, attracting disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The rebel MPs have maintained that their move constituted a valid merger.
The Supreme Court had earlier issued notices to the Secretary General and the 20 MPs in connection with the disqualification petitions.
