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SC's 21-day deadline to T’gana Speaker on disqualification PILs against BRS MLAs
The Supreme Court extended the Telangana assembly Speaker's deadline by three weeks to decide on disqualification petitions against two rebel BRS legislators.
The Supreme Court on Friday extended the time accorded to the Telangana assembly Speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions against two out of the 10 rebel Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) legislators by three weeks, failing which it cautioned of initiating contempt proceedings.
A bench of justices Sanjay Karol and AG Masih said, “List after three weeks. We expect the Speaker to positively take a decision, failing which we will proceed with contempt.”
The order came in a bunch of petitions by BRS leaders, including a contempt petition filed by KT Rama Rao, the working president of BRS, who alleged that the Speaker was in contempt for violating the three-month deadline for deciding on the disqualification pleas set by the top court’s July 31 order last year.
When the matter was heard last on January 16, the court had granted two weeks to the Speaker to decide on three of the pending disqualification pleas.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, told the bench that since the last date, the Speaker has decided one petition while the remaining two petitions are on the “verge of being completed”. Singhvi said that due to the ensuing municipal elections, the other side had sought time and requested the court to post the matter after three weeks.
However, lawyers appearing for the BRS leaders said that the Speaker has been given several opportunities to comply with this court’s judgment, but the matter has been adjourned by him in flagrant violation of the time fixed by the court. They pointed out that facts against one of the MLAs facing disqualification are so apparent that while being a BRS MLA, he switched sides to Congress, lost the Parliamentary election on Congress ticket and still continues as MLA.
However, the bench told the petitioners, “Last time, the secretary of the legislative assembly indicated they will require time till March. However, we gave them two weeks. Since then, one matter has been decided. We will grant them time.” It cautioned the lawyers arguing for the sake of arguments, “Don’t make reels out of this. It has emerged as a new industry.”
The Speaker had on December 17 decided petitions against five MLAs followed by decisions against two others on January 15. These MLAs include Kale Yadaiah, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, and Arekapudi Gandhi.
The petition against M Sanjay Kumar has now been decided, while the petitions against Kadiyam Srihari and Danam Nagendar are still pending.
In an affidavit filed through advocate Sravan Kumar Karanam, the Speaker said that the disqualification petitions against Nagendar will be taken up for recording of evidence on February 18, while the one against Srihari is fixed for February 19.
