Supreme Court stays Calcutta High Court verdict disqualifying Mukul Roy as MLA for defecting to TMC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Calcutta High Court disqualifying senior leader Mukul Roy as an MLA of the West Bengal Assembly under the anti-defection law.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi put on hold the November 13, 2025 order of the high court.

The counsel, for the petitioner, Roy's son, contended that the high court exceeded its jurisdiction by ordering the disqualification of a legislator in exercise of its narrow judicial review powers.

She informed that since Mukul Roy was unwell, his son had filed the petition.

It was contended that the Speaker had declined to entertain the plea on the ground that the social media posts submitted to show the alleged defection of Roy were not authenticated in terms of Section 65B of the Evidence Act.

However, the high court had reversed this view of the Speaker. The high court had observed that strict adherence to Section 65B was not necessary in proceedings under the tenth schedule of the Constitution.

The high court taking recourse to the anti-defection law, exercised its constitutional authority to disqualify an elected lawmaker under the anti-defection law.

Roy was elected to the House on a BJP ticket from the Krishnanagar Uttar seat in May 2021, but joined the ruling Trinamool Congress in June that year in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, while retaining his MLA status.

During the hearing, the counsel stated, “the findings of the Speaker was that in absence of anything to corroborate those screenshots, that could not be taken as evidence. The Speaker mentions that despite several opportunities, there was no oral evidence which was led and therefore, the benefit of doubt had to be given to the elected member”.

The counsel said the high court also incorrectly records, primary evidence is produced because a video clip is played in court and shown to the advocate general, and stressed that it cannot be evidence in disqualification petition.

Another counsel, representing the BJP leaders, contended that there was a press conference held, and the person who is elected on a BJP ticket went to that press conference where TMC authorities are present.

“That press conference is video recorded and just see the statements made in the press conference”, the counsel said, adding that the chief minister of West Bengal was also there.

The bench said video recording is not proof as per law.

“In this era of AI something, whose face. God knows,” the bench said.

The counsel, however, said a Section 65B certificate was produced.

The bench, however, wondered, “The High court (went on) to say that preponderance of probabilities will be principle followed in a matter of defection.”

“The seminal judgment on admissibility is in an election petition…high court says forget about electronic evidence, I have got the transcript and it’s a case of non-traverse. For non-traverse, you will disqualify a person," the bench added.

The court finally issued notice on a plea filed by Roy’s son and also stayed the high court order.