The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to 20 rebel TMC MPs on a plea by party leader Abhishek Banerjee seeking an expeditious decision on their disqualification petitions by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to hear Banerjee's plea, which challenges the alleged delay in deciding the disqualification proceedings.
The court, however, declined to issue notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker's office and the secretary-general of the House after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he was representing them.
Banerjee has sought directions to the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions in accordance with the anti-defection provisions of the Constitution. He had earlier filed separate petitions against the 20 MPs and subsequently urged the Speaker to expedite their disposal.
The TMC leader also met Birla on August 12 over the issue, after sending a written reminder on July 27.
The dispute follows a rebellion within the TMC parliamentary party after 20 of its Lok Sabha MPs 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 Parliament.
The rebel MPs have since been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and have participated in NDA parliamentary activities.
The TMC has maintained that the MPs were elected on its 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 camp, however, has maintained that its move constitutes a valid merger.
The Supreme Court is also hearing a similar plea filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) challenging the Speaker's approval of the merger of its six MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
(With inputs from PTI)
