Supreme Court notices to Telangana Assembly Speaker, defectors

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the TS Assembly Speaker and MLAs who defected to the TRS, directing them to reply to a petition filed by Congress Alampur MLA S.A. Sampath Kumar.

Mr Kumar filed the appeal stating despite of filing petitions before the Speaker seeking disqualification of the MLAs who defected to the TRS, no action was since two years. He challenged the dismissal of his earlier petitions filed before the Hyderabad High Court. A SC bench, comprising Joseph Kurian and Shiva Kirthi Singh, while allowing the appeal, issued notices to the Speaker and MLAs, telling them to respond within three weeks.

The notices would be handed to the respondents in person. Congress MP and senior counsel Vivek Tankha, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, submitted that due to lack of clear cut guidelines in deciding the disqualification petitions, the Speaker has kept them pending for months, thus making a mockery of  Parliamentary democracy.