Calcutta High Court Refuses Interim Stay On WB Speaker’s Recognition Of Rebel TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee As Leader Of Opposition

On June 18, 2026, Justice Krishna Rao of the Calcutta High Court refused to grant interim relief staying West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose’s recognition of rebel TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition.

As a result, Banerjee will continue to function as Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly until further orders, according to LiveLaw.

Background: How We Got Here

The dispute stems directly from the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. After results were declared on May 4, 2026, the BJP came to power and TMC moved to the opposition benches, per India Legal Live.

A sharp internal rebellion fractured the TMC legislative party. Of its 80 MLAs, 58 reportedly backed rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee against the Mamata Banerjee-led faction’s official nominee.

The writ petition before the Calcutta High Court was filed by senior TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who challenged Speaker Bose’s decision to disregard the party’s officially communicated nominee and instead recognise Banerjee, as reported by Bar & Bench.

• On May 6, 2026, a meeting of TMC MLAs was held at which Chattopadhyay was nominated as Leader of Opposition; the decision was communicated to the Speaker’s office.
• The Speaker called for a resolution and minutes. A second TMC legislative party meeting was held on May 19, 2026, and the resolution along with the attendance sheet was forwarded to the Speaker.
• On June 3, 2026, 56 of the 58 rebel MLAs physically appeared before the Speaker in support of Ritabrata Banerjee’s claim, according to Bar & Bench.
• The Speaker subsequently recognised Banerjee as Leader of Opposition, concluding that the expulsions of Banerjee and fellow rebel MLA Sandipan Saha were not valid under the party’s constitution, per LawChakra.
• Rebel MLAs Banerjee and Saha also alleged that signatures on the resolution supporting Chattopadhyay’s appointment were forged; the Speaker referred the matter to the CID of West Bengal Police for inquiry.

Justice Krishna Rao presided over the matter as a single-judge bench. The court had held extensive hearings, including a significant session on June 17, 2026, before delivering its order on the stay application on June 18.

The Ruling — Key Findings

Justice Krishna Rao declined to pass an interim stay on the Speaker’s recognition order. The court directed all parties to file affidavits and posted the matter for hearing after three weeks, according to LiveLaw.

Across hearings, the court had pointedly questioned the Speaker’s conduct. Justice Rao remarked: “Your Speaker has [been] very keen that, ‘yes 58 [MLAs] [is] majority, I appoint’, but your Speaker on 78 [MLAs] has started all the enquiries. Why it is?”

The court also observed the asymmetry in how the two competing claims were treated. Justice Rao stated: “You are telling 56 present… you have ignored the first representation. Till date, no explanation is coming why you have ignored the first.”

The court noted that the principles of natural justice required the Speaker to hear all concerned parties before arriving at a conclusion, per LiveLaw.

Despite these observations, the bench stopped short of granting the stay at the interim stage, allowing the Speaker’s recognition to hold for now.

Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay, appearing for petitioner Chattopadhyay, had argued before the court that the recognition of a Leader of Opposition must vest in the political party and not in any faction of the legislature party. He invoked the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s Shiv Sena verdict in support of this position, per India Legal Live.

Bandopadhyay was quoted as saying: “The decision has to be of the political party, not of any faction of the legislature party.”

The Speaker’s position, as noted in proceedings, was that Banerjee and Saha had not been validly expelled under the party’s own constitution, and that the rebel faction therefore possessed the requisite numerical strength to claim recognition.

Reactions & What’s Next

The court’s refusal to stay the order means the status quo — with Ritabrata Banerjee functioning as Leader of Opposition in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly — remains intact as the Assembly reconvened on June 18, 2026.

Justice Rao indicated the matter would return to court after three weeks, with all parties required to file their affidavits in the interim. In his parting observation, the judge remarked: “Come back, let us see. Let the order come from the Speaker.”

The hearing on June 17 had seen the court extensively grill the Speaker’s side on the differential treatment afforded to the two sets of communications received from rival TMC factions, as reported by Bar & Bench.

The TMC’s official faction, which backs Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, is expected to press its challenge in the substantive hearing. The questions of anti-defection law, the validity of intra-party expulsions, and the Speaker’s discretion in recognising a legislative party leader are all squarely in issue.

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