The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh seeking judicial directions to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker to permit him to participate in legislative debates and articulate objections to Bills introduced before the House.
Justice Krishna Rao held that the Court cannot exercise its writ jurisdiction to regulate the allocation of speaking opportunities within the legislature, observing that a grievance concerning participation in Assembly proceedings must appropriately be pursued before the House itself.
The Court also invoked Article 212 of the Constitution, which expressly restricts judicial scrutiny of proceedings of a State Legislature on the ground of an alleged procedural irregularity. The constitutional bar, the Court held, rendered Ghosh’s petition non-maintainable.
Ghosh, who represents the Beleghata Assembly constituency, had approached the High Court alleging that he was repeatedly being denied an opportunity to participate in debates despite several significant legislative matters being taken up by the House.
Among the matters cited by him were the Bengal Public Safety and Control of Antisocial Activities Bill, 2026, the Finance Bill and the budget relating to Municipal Affairs. His plea sought a direction to the Speaker to facilitate his participation in debates and enable him to raise objections concerning legislative business.
The plea was opposed by Senior Advocate Joydeep Kar, appearing for the Opposition Whip, who contended that the writ petition could not be sustained in view of the constitutional immunity accorded to legislative proceedings under Article 212.
It was submitted that Ghosh had, in fact, been permitted to address the Assembly on earlier occasions, including during the discussion on the Governor’s address on June 23 and the Budget on June 24. The opposition also maintained that Ghosh was not being singled out and that the Speaker was required to regulate speaking opportunities among all 294 legislators.
Additional Advocate General Billwadal Bhattacharya, appearing for the Speaker, submitted that the dispute essentially concerned the internal functioning of the legislature and the relationship between the party leadership and one of its members. It was argued that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate any procedural impropriety warranting judicial intervention.
Ghosh’s counsel, Biswarup Bhattacharya, however, contended that while other members belonging to the Trinamool Congress faction were being afforded opportunities to participate in legislative debates, his client was allegedly being denied a corresponding opportunity to speak on Bills.
The High Court ultimately declined to entertain the challenge, holding that Ghosh’s grievance could be pursued within the legislative forum. The Court’s order reiterates the constitutional principle of separation of powers and the limited scope of judicial review over the internal proceedings of a State Legislature.
Accordingly, the petition seeking directions against the Assembly Speaker was dismissed.
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