New Delhi, Jan. 16: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a recent judgment of the Calcutta High Court which had disqualified the law maker Mukul Roy from the membership of the West Bengal State Legislative Assembly on the ground that he had defected from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) i9n 2021.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi by an interim order stayed the unseating of Roy while observing that electronic material relied upon to establish the alleged defection would have to be tested, particularly in the present era of artificial intelligence and digital manipulation.
“See there is AI etc, we don’t know whose face etc is there. Electronic evidence has to be tested,” CJI Kant remarked, while staying the High Court’s decision disqualifying Roy.
The Court issued notice on an appeal by Subhranshu Roy – son of Mukul Roy – to West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP MLA Ambika Roy, whose petitions before the High Court had culminated in the disqualification order in November 2025. They were given four weeks’ time to file their replies.
Subhranshu Roy has moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order stating that his father is not well.
“Post the matter after four weeks,” the Bench ordered, granting interim protection to Roy in the meantime.
Mukul Roy was elected as an MLA from the Krishnanagar Uttar constituency on a BJP ticket. In June 2021, however, he was alleged to have crossed over to the Trinamool Congress, following which disqualification proceedings were initiated against him under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution governing anti-defection.
In 2022, the Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly rejected pleas seeking Roy’s disqualification. That decision was later set aside by a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court, which remanded the matter back to the Speaker for reconsideration. Upon rehearing the plea for disqualification of Roy, the Speaker again concluded in June 2022 that there was no material to establish defection by Mukul Roy.
Challenging this, Adhikari and Ambika Roy once again approached the High Court, relying primarily on footage of a Trinamool Congress press conference to contend that Roy had formally joined the party.
In November 2025, a Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi held that Roy had indeed defected to the TMC on June 11, 2021, and consequently incurred disqualification under the anti-defection law.
“The respondent No. 2 (Mukul Roy) is declared to have become disqualified in terms of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India and the Rules of 1986 with effect from June 11, 2021,” the High Court had ruled, also setting aside Roy’s appointment as Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee of the Assembly.
Applying the standard of preponderance of probabilities, the High Court noted that Roy had not denied his presence at the TMC press conference. It recorded, “The respondent No. 2 has not denied the fact that the press conference was held by AITC and that he was present therein.
When Roy’s challenge came up before the Supreme Court on Friday, the Bench emphasised that the authenticity and evidentiary value of the electronic material relied upon would have to be established in accordance with the law.
Senior Advocate Gaurav Aggarwal, appearing for the BJP leaders, opposed the grant of interim relief. The Court, however, proceeded to stay the High Court judgment pending further consideration of the matter.
Pictures credit social media
