Ritabrata Banerjee stays Bengal LoP as Calcutta HC refers case to single judge
Synopsis
A Calcutta High Court division bench has declined to overturn the West Bengal Assembly Speaker's decision making expelled TMC legislator Ritabrata Banerjee the Leader of Opposition — but has stopped short of settling the dispute, referring it back to a single judge with a two-month deadline. The internal TMC power struggle is now squarely back in court.
Key Takeaways
A Calcutta High Court division bench on 18 August referred the Leader of Opposition dispute back to the single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao .
Ritabrata Banerjee will continue as West Bengal LoP on a temporary basis until the single judge rules, within two months .
The division bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Ajaya Kumar Gupta refused to interfere with Speaker Rathindra Bose's earlier decision.
Trinamool Congress won 80 seats in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, becoming the principal Opposition party.
Banerjee and Sandipan Saha were expelled from TMC on 1 June for anti-party activities after raising allegations of signature forgery in a party letter to the Speaker.
Sovandeb Chattopadhyay , backed by the 'original but minority' TMC bloc, had moved the division bench challenging the single judge's June ruling.
Expelled All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator Ritabrata Banerjee will continue as the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for the next two months, after a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, 18 August declined to interfere with the Assembly Speaker's decision and referred the petition back to a single-judge bench for a fresh hearing.
What the Division Bench Decided
The division bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Ajaya Kumar Gupta refused to overturn the order of West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, who had earlier accepted Banerjee as the leader of the 'rebel but majority' bloc of the Trinamool Congress in the House. Instead, the bench referred the matter back to the single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao, directing it to decide the issue within two months.
The division bench also clarified that, pending the single-judge's final ruling, the Speaker's appointment of Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition would be treated as temporary.
Background: A Party Split and a Disputed Letter
The dispute traces back to the West Bengal Assembly elections earlier this year, in which the Trinamool Congress won 80 seats and became the principal Opposition party in the state. TMC Chairperson Mamata Banerjee had designated Sovandeb Chatterjee — also referred to as Sovandeb Chattopadhyay — as the party's choice for Leader of Opposition, and a letter to that effect was sent to Speaker Bose on 9 May.
It was subsequently alleged that the Speaker did not act on that letter, and further allegations emerged that the signatures of MLAs on the letter had been forged. Ritabrata Banerjee and fellow TMC legislator Sandipan Saha, who raised these allegations, were expelled from the party on 1 June for anti-party activities.
How Banerjee Was Appointed LoP
On 3 June, the 'rebel but majority faction' within Trinamool Congress chose Ritabrata Banerjee as their Leader of Opposition and submitted a separate letter to the Speaker. Speaker Bose acted on that letter and formally declared Banerjee the Leader of Opposition. The single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao had, in June, upheld the Speaker's decision.
Thereafter, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a veteran TMC legislator and a prominent figure in the 'original but minority' bloc of the party, challenged the single-judge bench's ruling before the division bench — setting the stage for Tuesday's order.
What Happens Next
The case now returns to the single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao, which must deliver its ruling within two months. Until that verdict, Ritabrata Banerjee retains the Leader of Opposition designation on a temporary basis. The outcome will have direct implications for the internal power dynamics of Trinamool Congress in the Bengal Assembly, and could set a precedent on how Speakers handle rival claims from within the same party.
Point of View
The division bench has preserved the status quo without endorsing it. The deeper question the courts have yet to squarely address is whether a Speaker can legitimately recognise a 'rebel majority' faction of a party whose parent body has expelled its leaders — a grey area that sits at the intersection of anti-defection law and legislative privilege. With TMC's internal fracture now a matter of public record and judicial scrutiny, the two-month deadline will test whether Bengal's Assembly politics can wait for a legal verdict or whether the factional battle spills into the floor of the House first.
NationPress
18 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ritabrata Banerjee and why is he in the news?
Ritabrata Banerjee is an expelled Trinamool Congress legislator who was declared Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly by Speaker Rathindra Bose, after the 'rebel but majority' TMC faction chose him for the role on 3 June. His appointment has been challenged in the Calcutta High Court by rival TMC legislator Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.
What did the Calcutta High Court division bench decide on 18 August?
The division bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Ajaya Kumar Gupta declined to overturn the Assembly Speaker's decision and referred the petition back to the single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao. It directed the single judge to decide the matter within two months, allowing Banerjee to retain the LoP post temporarily in the interim.
Why was Ritabrata Banerjee expelled from Trinamool Congress?
Banerjee and fellow TMC legislator Sandipan Saha were expelled from the party on 1 June for anti-party activities. The expulsions came after the two raised allegations that signatures of MLAs had been forged in a letter sent by TMC to the Assembly Speaker on 9 May, nominating Sovandeb Chatterjee as Leader of Opposition.
Who is challenging Ritabrata Banerjee's position as Leader of Opposition?
Veteran TMC legislator Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a prominent figure in the 'original but minority' bloc of Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee, moved the Calcutta High Court's division bench after the single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao upheld the Speaker's decision in June.
What happens next in the West Bengal LoP dispute?
The case returns to the single-judge bench of Justice Krishan Rao, which must deliver its ruling within two months. Until that verdict, Ritabrata Banerjee retains the Leader of Opposition designation on a temporary basis as directed by the division bench.
