Calcutta High Court seeks affidavits on Mukul Roy’s Public Accounts Committee post

 A division bench fixed the next hearing on September 6 when Roy and Speaker Biman Banerjee would have to clarify their stand

Mukul Roy : File picture

TT Legal Reporter   |   Calcutta   |  25.08.21: Calcutta High Court on Tuesday asked Krishnagar North MLA Mukul Roy and Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee to file affidavits stating their stand with regard to the BJP’s contention that the appointment of the former as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee was “invalid and illegal”.

A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal fixed the next hearing on September 6 when Roy and the Speaker would have to clarify their stand.

Roy, formerly Number Two in the Trinamul Congress, had switched to the BJP in 2017 and was its national vice-president. He returned to Trinamul after the Assembly elections this summer and won from Krishnagar North.

BJP MLAs, led by the leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, had walked out of the Assembly soon after Roy’s appointment had been announced by the Speaker.

The BJP’s Kalyani MLA, Ambika Roy, moved the case on behalf of his party. His lawyer C.S. Vaidyanathan argued that in the past 54 years, Opposition leaders had been  appointed chairpersons of the PAC. Roy rejoined Trinamul and yet, he was appointed to the post, said Vaidyanathan.

The lawyer claimed that by that, the ruling establishment had violated the convention and said the court should immediately strike down the appointment. Vaidyanathan also claimed the BJP had approached the Speaker and requested him to take proper action, but there had been none till date.

The state government’s lawyers were present in court but did not take part in the argument. “Whatever we have to say, we will tell the court in the next hearing of the case,” said a government lawyer.