New Delhi — The Supreme Court of India has issued notices to 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha Members of Parliament who switched allegiance to the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) following TMC’s recent electoral setback in West Bengal. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana directed the rebel lawmakers to file their responses to a petition moved by senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee. Key Legal and Procedural Developments Disqualification Under Tenth Schedule: Abhishek Banerjee approached the apex court challenging the alleged delay by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in adjudicating disqualification proceedings initiated under the anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule of the Constitution). Notice to Speaker Declined: The bench declined to issue formal notices to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office and the Lok Sabha Secretary General, noting that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared on their behalf. Timeline of Appeals: Prior to approaching the Supreme Court, Banerjee filed individual disqualification petitions against the 20 MPs, sent a formal reminder on July 27, and met Speaker Om Birla on August 12 to request an expedited decision. Parallel Precedent: A similar matter is concurrently being heard by a bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe regarding a petition filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) challenging the defection of six of its MPs to the Eknath Shinde-led faction. The Anti-Defection Argument The Trinamool Congress maintains that all 20 lawmakers won their seats on the TMC party symbol. The party argues that their decision to merge with or join the Tripura-based NCPI amounts to voluntarily giving up their party membership, which warrants disqualification under constitutional anti-defection provisions. List of Rebel Lok Sabha MPs Named in the Plea Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar Shatabdi Roy Bapi Haldar Saayoni Ghosh Khalilur Rahaman Abu Taher Khan Yusuf Pathan Mitali Bag Dr. Sharmila Sarkar Prasun Banerjee Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia Asit Kumar Mal Arup Chakraborty Rachana Banerjee Mala Roy Kalipada Soren Deepak Adhikari (Dev) June Malia Partha Bhowmick Post navigation Shashi Tharoor Clarifies Congress Stand on Vande Mataram
