Calcutta High Court to hear challenge to Ritabrata Banerjee's LoP recognition today

The Calcutta High Court is scheduled to hear a petition on Wednesday challenging West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose's decision to recognize expelled Trinamool Congress legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition and representative of the party's new majority bloc in the House.

This will be the third hearing in the matter. At a previous hearing, Justice Rao questioned whether an expelled party legislator could be recognized as LoP without formal consent from the political party. The court also raised concerns about whether the decision on the majority bloc was taken without conducting a floor-test in the Assembly.

The same day, the court will also hear an anticipatory bail petition filed by singer-turned-politician and former West Bengal Minister Indranil Sen in connection with an FIR alleging financial forgery.