A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao ruled that the Speaker must decide the disqualification petitions within a reasonable timeframe. The Bench emphasized that the Speaker should consider the duration of the pending petitions and the objectives of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, along with the Assembly’s tenure.
Telangana: The Telangana High Court, on Friday(Nov 22) set-aside a single-judge order that directed the Telangana Legislative Assembly Secretary to present a timeline to the Speaker for hearing disqualification petitions against three MLAs.
These MLAs Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari, and Tellam Venkat Rao were elected on Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) tickets in the December 2023 elections but later joined the ruling Congress party.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao ruled that the Speaker must decide the disqualification petitions within a reasonable timeframe. The Bench emphasized that the Speaker should consider the duration of the pending petitions and the objectives of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, along with the Assembly’s tenure.
Referring to Supreme Court rulings in the Subhash Desai, Kihoto Hollohan, Rajendra Singh Rana, and Keisham Meghachandra cases, the Division Bench reinforced that disqualification petitions must be resolved by the Speaker within a reasonable period. These cases establish that the Speaker’s decisions on disqualification under the Tenth Schedule are subject to judicial review.
The Bench clarified that the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s ruling in Errabelli Dayakar Rao vs. Talasani Srinivas Yadav predated the Supreme Court’s judgment in Subhash Desai.
The petitions were initially filed by BRS MLAs Padi Kaushik Reddy and K.P. Vivekananda, and BJP floor leader A. Maheshwar Reddy, alleging inaction by the Speaker on their disqualification requests. On September 8, a single judge ordered the Assembly Secretary to submit these petitions to the Speaker for scheduling hearings. This order was subsequently challenged by the Assembly Secretary, leading to the High Court’s latest ruling.
The Division Bench emphasized that India is governed by the rule of law and the Constitution remains supreme. It reiterated that what constitutes a “reasonable time” for deciding such petitions depends on the specific circumstances of each case.
