Cases on Congress legislators to go on

Hyderabad: Though the Assembly was dissolved on Thursday, the hearing of the Hyderabad High Court on cases with regard to expulsion of Congress legislators Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and S.A. Sampath Kumar would go on. Legal experts say that till the date of the dissolution of the House, both the MLAs are eligible for benefits and allowances on par with other legislators as per the order of the single judge of the High Court. But as a division bench had stayed this order, the two MLAs will have to wait for their salary and allowances till the final verdict on the appeals moved by both Secretaries.

The Assembly passed the resolution on March 15 expelling both the MLAs for disrupting the House and causing injury to the Legislative Council Chairman by throwing ear phones during the Governor’s Address on March 12. Their expulsion was effective from March 12. The same day the Assembly Secretariat issued a notification notifying the Nalgonda and Alampur Assembly segments as vacant.

Mr Sarasani Satyam Reddy, senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, said that in view of the final order of the single judge dated April 17, the membership of both MLAs stood restored. In view of the suspension of the single judge’s order by a division bench on August 21, they have to wait till the final verdict in the appeals by both the secretaries.

High Court advocate N. Sreedhar Reddy explained that by virtue of the dissolution of the Assembly, both the MLAs had also lost their membership, but with regard to their salaries and other allowances for the period from March 12 they would have to wait for the final orders of the High Court. He said if the appeals of both secretaries were dismissed by the bench, the MLAs would have the right to claim their benefits. Otherwise they would be treated as expelled members.

Mr Venkat Reddy said he and Mr Sampath Kumar were not paid salaries and other allowances since March 12 despite the court order and their security was also not restored. He said that they had challenged the order of the division bench granted on August 21 suspending the order of the single judge in the Supreme Court and the case was listed for hearing to Monday.

It may be recalled that when both the MLAs moved the High Court, a single judge had stayed the resolution and notification of the Assembly on March 19 through an interim order. The single judge in his final order on April 17 set aside the resolution and the notification on the grounds of the violation of the principles of natural justice.

A division bench of the High Court on June 4 declared that the appeal moved by the TRS MLAs challenging the order of a single judge, who had set aside the expulsion of the two Congress MLAs from the Assembly, was not maintainable. Later the MLAs moved the contempt case against Assembly Secretary V. Narasimhacharyulu and law secretary V. Niranjan Rao. When the single judge issued notices to both the officials including the Speaker, the secretaries moved an appeal before the division bench.