Calcutta High Court Disqualifies Mukul Roy Under Anti-Defection Law

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday, November 13, 2025, disqualified senior political leader Mukul Roy from membership of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly under the anti-defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. A Division Bench held that Roy defected from the BJP to the Trinamool on June 11, 2021, and that such action incurs disqualification. The court directed that Roy be treated as disqualified with effect from June 11, 2021, and his nomination as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee was also set aside with the same retrospective date.

Roy had joined the Trinamool Congress in June 2021 after being elected as an MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar on a BJP ticket. The decision comes after a years-long legal process, during which the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, had engaged with the case and asserted that the Constitution’s defection norms would prevail. The bench’s ruling notes the long history of defections to the Trinamool since 2011, when numerous MLAs from opposition parties switched sides, but without disqualification by the Assembly Speaker in those instances. The court’s conclusion marks what is described as a constitutional triumph by Adhikari, who emphasized the length and persistence of the case.

Roy’s disqualification from the Assembly also renders the Krishnanagar North seat vacant, as he no longer holds membership in the legislature. The outcome of the case underscores the court’s stance on party-switching and the enforcement of anti-defection rules, potentially shaping how similar cases are handled in the future. The decision has broad implications for how defections are treated in Bengal politics and may influence future political maneuvering ahead of elections.

Cover image source: Calcutta HC disqualifies senior leader Mukul Roy from West Bengal Assembly under anti-defection law 🔗

#MukulRoy #WestBengalPolitics #AntiDefection