The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the 20 TMC rebel MPs on a petition filed by TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee seeking an expeditious decision by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on petitions seeking their disqualification for ‘merging’ with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, however, refused to issue notice to the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Lok Sabha Secretary General after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he was there to represent them.The Lok Sabha Speaker has already issued notices to the 20 rebel TMC MPs on petitions filed by the TMC seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law i.e. the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, Mehta told the Bench which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana.”We are not to pass any order against a constitutional authority, but to ensure that it is done in a timely manner. That’s important… It’s not a question of issuing notices; it is a question of concluding the proceedings within a time frame,” Justice Bagchi said.As senior advocate Kalyan Bandhopadhyay, representing the TMC, sought to know why notice was not being issued to the Speaker, the Bench shot back, “Are you interested in adjudication of the issue or notice?”Challenging the alleged delay in deciding the disqualification proceedings initiated against the MPs, Banerjee — who is also TMC leader in the Lok Sabha — has sought directions for the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions in accordance with the anti-defection provisions of the Constitution. He had earlier submitted separate petitions against the 20 MPs and subsequently urged the Speaker to expedite their disposal.Banerjee had reportedly met Birla on August 12 after sending a written reminder on July 27.Twenty of the 29 TMC Lok Sabha MPs had ‘merged’ with the NCPI, a lesser known Tripura-based political outfit, and sought separate recognition in the House. They have subsequently been treated as an NCPI group in Parliament and have participated in NDA parliamentary activities.The TMC contended that the MPs were elected on its symbol and that their decision to align with another political formation amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the party, attracting disqualification under the anti-defection law i.e. the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.The rebel camp, however, maintained its move constituted a valid merger permissible under the Tenth Schedule.Besides the Lok Sabha Speaker and the LS Secretary General, the TMC has named the 20 MPs against whom the disqualification proceedings have been sought as respondents.The TMC rebel MPs are Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Rachana Banerjee, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Partha Bhowmick, Arup Chakraborty, Adhikari Deepak Dev, Sayani Ghosh, Bapi Haldar, Md Abu Taher Khan, Kalipada Saren Kherwal, Asit Kumar Mal, June Maliah, Mitali Bag, Khalilur Rahaman, Mala Roy, Sharmila Sarkar and Yusuf Pathan.The top court is also seized of a similar plea filed by the Shiv Sena (UBT) challenging the Speaker’s approval to the merger of its six MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.As several AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and TMC MPs switched sides days before the Monsoon Session of Parliament began, veteran lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal moved the Supreme Court last month seeking reinterpretation of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution which allows lawmakers to avoid disqualification on defections.