HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Friday stayed a previous order regarding the disqualification petitions of legislators who defected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to the Congress. The court ruled that the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, G. Prasad Kumar, has the sole authority to decide on the disqualification cases, and emphasized that the Speaker must resolve the petitions within a “reasonable time.”`
A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao set aside the ruling from a single-judge bench by Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, delivered on September 9. The single-judge bench had directed the Telangana Assembly Secretary, Dr. Narasimha Charyulu, to ensure that the Speaker decides the disqualification petitions within four weeks.
The division bench ruled that there was no need to impose a specific time frame on the Speaker but stressed that the decision must be made within a reasonable period. Justice Aradhe, while delivering the judgment, pointed out that the Speaker, as the head of the tribunal constituted under Schedule 10 of the Constitution, should take into account the anti-defection law and the current Assembly’s tenure while addressing the pending disqualification cases.
The disqualification petitions involve three MLAs—Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari, and Tellam Venkat Rao—who were elected on BRS tickets but later switched to the Congress without vacating their legislative posts.
Petitions for disqualification were filed by BRS leaders Padi Kaushik Reddy and KP Vivekananda, as well as BJP floor leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy, who specifically sought the disqualification of Danam Nagender. Nagender contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat as a Congress candidate after being elected as the Khairatabad MLA on a BRS ticket, prompting calls for his disqualification.
Earlier, on September 9, Justice Vijaysen Reddy had directed the Assembly Speaker to make a decision within four weeks, with the possibility of reopening the case if the Speaker failed to act. However, the Assembly Secretary challenged this ruling, arguing that the courts can only review the Speaker’s decision after it has been made.
In the latest ruling, the division bench clarified that the Speaker’s decision on the disqualification petitions will not be subject to judicial review until after it is made. The court has now tasked the Speaker with resolving the matter in a timely manner while upholding the legislative process.
