The Telangana High Court’s Division Bench has set aside the single-judge’s ultimatum to the Speaker regarding the MLA defection case. While quashing the directive, the bench urged the Speaker to resolve the matter within a reasonable timeframe, citing its prolonged pending status.
The Telangana High Court has set-aside a single-judge ruling that mandated a timeline for the Legislative Assembly speaker to make a decision on disqualification petitions against three Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) who defected to the Congress party after being elected on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket.
A Division Bench consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao encouraged the speaker to resolve the issue in a timely manner, noting that the matter has been pending for several months.
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The court stated,
“The common order dated 09.09.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge … is set aside. The Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly must decide the disqualification petitions filed by the writ petitioners within a reasonable time. Needless to state that the Speaker while dealing with the disqualification petitions shall bear in mind the concept of reasonable time, by taking into account the period of pendency of the disqualification petitions, the object of inclusion of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India as well as the tenure of the Assembly,”
The single-judge order issued on September 9 pertained to petitions filed by BRS MLAs Kuna Pandu Vivekananda and Padi Kaushik Reddy, along with BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy. These MLAs had challenged the speaker’s inaction regarding disqualification petitions against MLAs Venkata Rao Tellam, Kadiyam Srihari, and Danam Nagender.
The petitioners argued that their disqualification petitions, submitted in April this year, had not been presented to the speaker for a decision. On September 9, Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy directed the assembly secretary to submit the disqualification requests to the speaker, who was instructed to make a decision in a timely manner.
The schedule for this decision was to be communicated to the High Court.
Notably, the single-judge added that if no action were taken within four weeks, the matter would be reopened suo motu, allowing for appropriate orders to be issued.
This order was subsequently challenged by the Telangana Legislative Assembly through three appeals before the Division Bench, which initially declined to stay the single-judge’s directive.
In its final judgment, the Division Bench reviewed numerous Supreme Court rulings regarding defection, emphasizing the limited scope for judicial intervention in such matters before overturning the single-judge’s ultimatum. The bench ultimately requested that the speaker decide the matter within a reasonable timeframe.
The Division Bench stated,
“It is evident that the Speaker is the authority to decide the disqualification petitions, exercising powers under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The Speaker is a high constitutional functionary. Our society is governed by the rule of law, and the Constitution is supreme. The Speaker’s power under the Tenth Schedule is subject to judicial review on the grounds articulated in Kihoto Hollohan and referenced by the Supreme Court in Rajendra Singh Rana and Subhash Desai. The Speaker of the Assembly is required to decide the disqualification petitions within a reasonable time, which will depend on the specific facts and circumstances of each case.”
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Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy and Advocate K. Pradeep Reddy represented the Telangana Legislative Assembly, while Senior Counsel Ravindra Shrivastava and Special Government Pleader IV Siddhivardhana represented the State of Telangana.
Senior Advocates J. Prabhakar and G. Mohan Rao, along with Advocates R.V. Pavan Maitreya and S. Santosh Kumar, represented the BRS MLAs who filed the disqualification petitions.
Senior Counsel Ravishankar Jandhyala, P. Sri Raghu Ram, B. Mayur Reddy, and Advocates Thoom Srinivas, P. Sri Ram, and L. Preetham Reddy represented the former BRS MLAs who joined the Congress party.