SC issues formal notices over Telangana MLAs’ disqualification

The next hearing is on March 25.

Hyderabad: In a key development in the MLAs’ defection case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 4, has issued formal notices to the Assembly Speaker, MLAs, Assembly secretary, and the rlection commission.

A bench led by Justice BR Gavai set March 22 as the deadline for responses, with the next hearing on March 25.

Criticizing the delay, Justice Gavai stressed the need for timely democratic processes, warning against procedural lags that render justice ineffective. Advocate Aryama Sundaram argued that the Speaker’s inaction amounts to a constitutional failure. Justice Gavai noted that the previous judgment submitted lacked a clear decision timeline.

Earlier, a bench of Justice BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran questioned the Telangana Assembly Speaker about what constitutes a “reasonable period” for deciding disqualification pleas. When the matter was taken up on Monday, Justice Gavai reminded senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Assembly Secretary, that he was supposed to seek instructions on this timeline.

Also Read
SC questions delay in disqualification of defected MLAs from Telangana Assembly

On February 2, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad for not setting a deadline over the decision on the disqualification of the MLAs who defected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) after the Telangana Assembly elections. He was granted one week to inform the Apex court about the timeline.

KTR files petition on defected MLAs in Telangana Assembly

On January 16, the BRS filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the defected MLAs. The petitions urge the Supreme Court to direct the Telangana Assembly Speaker and Secretary to take prompt action and establish a timeline for resolving the disqualification cases.

The petition was filed against three MLAs including Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, and Tellam Venkat Rao and a writ petition against seven others, mentioning Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Kale Yadaiah, M Sanjay Kumar, Krishnamohan Reddy, Mahipal Reddy, Prakash Goud and Arekapudi Gandhi.

BRS mentioned that despite a November 2024 ruling by the Telangana High Court directing the Assembly speaker to act on the disqualification pleas under the anti-defection law, no action has been taken since then.

The High Court’s division bench led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Srinivas Rao had dismissed a petition seeking direct disqualification and left the matter to the Speaker’s discretion.

Citing the Keisham Meghachandra case, which emphasized the Speaker’s duty to decide on disqualification petitions within a reasonable timeframe, the BRS has appealed to the Supreme Court to enforce a decision within four weeks.

The BRS also noted the lack of action from the Assembly Speaker and the Legislature Secretary, pointing out that even preliminary notices were not issued to the defected MLAs.