Supreme Court Stays Disqualification of Mukul Roy

The Supreme Court has stayed the verdict of the Calcutta High Court that disqualified Mukul Roy as an MLA for defecting to the TMC from the BJP. The high court exercised its authority under the anti-defection law to make this decision, marking a first-time use of such powers.

The Supreme Court intervened on Friday to stay the Calcutta High Court's decision that disqualified Mukul Roy, a senior leader, from his position as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in West Bengal. This comes after Roy defected from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

A bench including Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi halted the November 13, 2025, ruling of the high court. The high court had initially taken action based on the anti-defection law, marking the first occasion it exercised such constitutional powers to disqualify an elected official.

Roy secured his seat as a BJP candidate from Krishnanagar Uttar in May 2021 but later joined TMC in June, attending the switch with both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee present, all while retaining his MLA position.

(With inputs from agencies.)