The bench remarked, “Can it be the case every time that the operation is successful but the patient is dead?”
New Delhi, March 4th – The Supreme Court has raised concerns over the delay by the Telangana Assembly Speaker in making a decision on the disqualification petitions of BRS MLAs who switched to the ruling Congress party.
ALSO READ: BRS Approaches Supreme Court Seeking Action Against Defected MLAs
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih issued notices to the Telangana government and other authorities regarding the alleged delay in deciding the disqualification petitions. The court has sought responses from the state government, the Speaker’s office, the Telangana Legislative Assembly Secretary, the Election Commission of India, and the MLAs who defected to the Congress.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 25.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court strongly criticized the delay and asked whether such delays should be allowed.
The bench remarked, “Can it be the case every time that the operation is successful but the patient is dead?”
This statement indicates the court’s concern that even if a decision is eventually made, it may come too late to be effective.
Background
Several BRS MLAs had defected to the Congress, leading to disqualification petitions being filed against them. However, the Speaker has not yet made a decision on these petitions, prompting the matter to reach the Supreme Court. The petitioners argue that the delay is unjustified and affects the democratic process. The court’s intervention aims to ensure that the issue is resolved within a reasonable timeframe
The special leave petition requests the disqualification of Kadiyam Srihari, T Venkata Rao, and Danam Nagender. Additionally, the BRS had previously approached the High Court regarding these three MLAs, which resulted in the court directing the Speaker to resolve the petitions within a reasonable time.
The BRS also filed a writ petition against seven other MLAs—Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, K Yadaiah, Dr Sanjay, Arekapudi Gandhi, Prakash Goud, Mahipal Reddy, and Krishna Mohan Reddy.
The party plans to justify directly approaching the Supreme Court regarding the seven MLAs by referencing the outcome of the High Court’s judgment concerning the three turncoat MLAs—Nagender, Venkat Rao, and Kadiyam.
Previously, a single judge of the Telangana High Court instructed the assembly secretary to secure a timeline from the Speaker’s office for deciding the disqualification petitions against the three MLAs. However, the assembly secretary filed a writ appeal, and a division bench of the High Court set aside the single judge’s order, leaving the matter for the Speaker to resolve within a reasonable time.
Two BRS MLAs have now filed the Special Leave Petition, claiming that despite six months passing since the High Court’s order, the Speaker has yet to issue notices to the three defectors. BRS counsel, Mohith Rao, stated that they are relying on the Keisham Meghachandra case, which set limits for constitutional authorities.
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