KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed that West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay may file an affidavit in a PIL seeking the removal of MLA Mukul Roy from the post of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice R Bharadwaj adjourned hearing in the matter to August 12.
The bench said that the speaker and other respondents, in the meantime, may file an affidavit if they wish to do so.
BJP legislator Ambika Roy has moved the PIL before the high court seeking removal of Roy from the post of PAC chairman of the Assembly, making the speaker one of the respondents in the petition.
The state government has opposed the prayer claiming that the appointment was "in the domain and discretion" of the speaker of the House.
The petitioner claimed that the post of PAC chairman traditionally goes to an opposition member, and since Mukul Roy joined the ruling Trinamool Congress after being elected on a saffron party ticket, he should be removed from the post.
Claiming that a court cannot interfere in the decisions of a speaker concerning the business of an Assembly, as per Article 212 of the Constitution, Advocate General Kishore Dutta had on July 30 contended before the court that the PIL was not maintainable and should be dismissed.