Kolkata, Dec 18 (IANS) The West Bengal Assembly Secretariat said on Thursday that it will not challenge the order by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court's order last month striking down the membership of Mukul Roy with the state Assembly.
The decision has been taken after consultation with the legal analysts who advised not to challenge the decision of the Calcutta High Court before the Supreme Court.
Confirming this decision of not challenging the Calcutta High Court's order, the West Bengal Assembly Speaker, Biman Bandyopadhyay, told media persons on Thursday afternoon that since Mukul Roy's son, Subhrangshu Roy, also a former member of the West Bengal Assembly, was a party in the case at the Calcutta High Court, the initiative of challenging the court order should have been on his part.
"Hence, the State Assembly Secretariat will not take any initiative in the matter," the Assembly Speaker said.
On November 13, the Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi cancelled Mukul Roy's membership from the House.
The division bench also quashed the order passed by the Speaker of the House Biman Bandyopadhyay earlier, refusing to cancel the membership of Roy from the state Assembly.
However, considering that West Bengal is heading for the crucial Assembly elections next year, there will be no bypoll in Krishnanagar (Uttar) Assembly constituency during the interim period.
Mukul Roy, the former Trinamool Congress General Secretary, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the 2021 West Bengal elections and also successfully contested as a BJP candidate in Krishnanagar (Uttar) Assembly constituency in Nadia district of West Bengal.
However, he joined Trinamool Congress just days after the Assembly poll results were declared and Trinamool Congress came to power for the third consecutive term with a massive majority.
However, he did not resign as a member of the State Assembly and officially continued as a BJP legislator there.
Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay rejected the BJP's plea for the cancellation of Roy's membership from the Assembly.
The Speaker said that since Roy was officially a BJP candidate, his membership could not be cancelled.
Roy was even made the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House, a post which is traditionally offered to an MLA from the principal opposition party in the Assembly.
Thereafter, the BJP approached the Calcutta High Court seeking the cancellation of Roy's membership from the House as a legislator from the Krishnanagar (Uttar) Assembly constituency.
After a prolonged hearing in the matter, finally on Thursday, Calcutta High Court's division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi finally cancelled Roy's membership from the House.
--IANS
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