Five months after a disqualification petition was filed against 10 rebel Trinamool Congress MLAs, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Calcutta High Court to take up the matter urgently and dispose it of, giving fresh momentum to the political and legal battle over leadership of the West Bengal Assembly's Opposition.

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A division bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to entertain the petition filed by Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the Trinamool Congress MLA from Kolkata's Ballygunge, and directed him to approach the Calcutta High Court for appropriate relief.

The apex court, however, requested the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to place the matter before a division bench for urgent consideration and ensure that it is decided without unnecessary delay.

‘It seems to us that the petitioner has to take recourse to the Calcutta High Court,’ the bench observed.

Disposing of the petition at this stage, the Supreme Court granted Chattopadhyay the liberty to move the High Court and requested its Chief Justice to list the matter before a division bench for an early hearing.

Who are the 10 MLAs facing disqualification proceedings?

Chattopadhyay has sought to disqualify 10 legislators who contested and won the Assembly election on Trinamool Congress tickets but defected after the party lost the polls.

The list includes Ritabrata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, Arup Roy, Sandipan Saha, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Shiuli Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan and Rathin Ghosh.

Ritabrata Banerjee, who is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, is at the centre of the controversy.

Chattopadhyay had been nominated as the Leader of the Opposition before the split within the Trinamool Congress.

However, within weeks of the Assembly election results being declared, Ritabrata and Saha approached Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, claiming they had not signed the resolution announcing Chattopadhyay as the Opposition leader.

The party expelled both. Soon, more than 60 of the Trinamool Congress's 80 MLAs joined them.

How the leadership dispute reached the Supreme Court

The dispute over the Opposition leadership subsequently turned into a legal battle, with former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Ballygunge MLA Chattopadhyay challenging the Speaker's decision to recognise Ritabrata as the Leader of the Opposition.

Their contention was that Ritabrata had been expelled from the party and, therefore, should not have been recognised for the position.

A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court declined to grant any interim relief.

Two months later, in August, a division bench allowed Ritabrata to continue as Leader of the Opposition until the single bench delivered its decision.

Chattopadhyay then approached the Supreme Court, but it rejected his plea. The apex court said it had no reason to doubt the Speaker and expressed confidence that he would adhere to the timelines laid down in earlier judicial precedents.

'Five months have already passed': Chattopadhyay's counsel

During Thursday's proceedings, Chattopadhyay's counsel pointed out that the disqualification petition had been filed in July and that five months had elapsed without a decision.

‘The disqualification petition is of July. It is fully covered by this court's orders. Five months have already passed,’ the lawyer told the bench.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi acknowledged the concern but cautioned against using litigation to bypass the established judicial process.

‘We quite understand. You cannot litigate to jump the queue,’ Justice Bagchi remarked.

The petitioner's counsel subsequently urged the court to ensure an expeditious disposal of the matter.

With the Supreme Court now directing the Calcutta High Court to take up the disqualification proceedings on priority, the next stage of the legal battle will unfold before the state High Court.