Calcutta High Court cancels Mukul Roy's West Bengal Assembly membership under anti-defection law

Senior leader Mukul Roy

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday disqualified senior leader Mukul Roy from the West Bengal Legislative Assembly under the anti-defection law.

Mukul Roy, who had won the 2021 state elections on a BJP ticket, had crossed over to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) just a few months later, in August that year, at an event attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

A division bench led by Justice Debangsu Basak delivered the verdict while hearing petitions filed by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP MLA Ambika Roy. Adhikari had earlier moved the court challenging Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee’s decision to dismiss his plea seeking Roy’s disqualification, arguing that Roy’s defection to the TMC violated the provisions of the anti-defection law.

Reacting to the verdict, Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee said, “We have to examine the matter, this is a controversial topic; we have to see the order and then determine what to do. We have some protection, let’s see what’s there in order.”

The ruling came in response to a petition filed by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who had challenged the Speaker’s earlier refusal to disqualify Roy. Adhikari’s plea argued that Roy’s defection to the TMC, despite being elected on a BJP mandate, was a clear violation of the anti-defection statute—a position the court has now upheld.

By overturning the Speaker’s decision, the High Court reaffirmed the strict enforcement of the anti-defection law, setting a significant judicial precedent in the country’s political landscape.

Mukul Roy was elected from the Krishnanagar Uttar constituency on a BJP ticket in May 2021, but switched to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) the following month in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, while continuing to hold his MLA post.

With the disqualification, the Krishnanagar Uttar seat now stands vacant, though officials have indicated that a bypoll is unlikely since the next assembly elections are due early next year.

A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi delivered the verdict, ruling in favour of petitions filed by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP MLA Ambika Roy.
“This is the first time in this country that a high court exercised its Constitutional powers to disqualify an MLA under the anti-defection law (introduced by the 52nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1985). It may have taken some time for the court to deliver this verdict. But, it is a triumph of truth and dharma,” said Bilwadal Banerjee, counsel for Adhikari.

Adhikari had moved the court after Speaker Biman Banerjee rejected his plea seeking Roy’s disqualification, arguing that the latter had defected to the ruling TMC after winning as a BJP candidate.

In July 2021, Roy was appointed chairman of the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC)—a position traditionally held by members of the opposition. However, Ambika Roy separately challenged this appointment, contending that Roy’s party had never nominated him for the role after his crossover.

Welcoming the verdict, Adhikari described it as a “victory of the Constitution” and a defeat of “those who try to undermine it.”
“I have been fighting against this for the last four years. Since 2011, ever since Mamata Banerjee ascended to power, the TMC orchestrated 54 defections of opposition MLAs. The BJP finally achieved what no other opposition parties could,” he said.

“This is only phase one of my fight. Three other MLAs who made similar switchovers in recent times – Tanmay Ghosh, Tapasi Mondal and Suman Kanjilal – should remain prepared because I am coming after them next,” Adhikari added.

He also questioned the Speaker’s impartiality, remarking, “The Speaker should know that party faithfuls do not have the final say, the Constitution does.”

In response, TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty accused Adhikari of “political hypocrisy.”
“Defectors exist in Suvendu’s own family. Why else would Suvendu’s father Sisir Adhikari and his brother Dibyendu attend BJP rallies and vote in the Parliament in favour of the saffron camp in defiance of TMC whips, after getting elected as MPs on TMC tickets,” Chakraborty said.

He further added, “How do you think the BJP wrested power in Goa and Maharashtra? It would have been good to see the judiciary playing the same role across all such cases, as it did in the case of Mukul Roy.”

*With Agency Inputs