Stay on YSR Congress MLA R K Roja suspension set aside

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday set aside the earlier order passed by a single judge staying the suspension YSR Congress MLA R.K. Roja from the AP Assembly for one year and said that courts had limited scope to review the workings of the legislature.

A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice P. Naveen Rao heard the appeal by the AP Legislative Affairs department represented by its secretary, challenging the single judge's interim order wherein he stayed the motion moved by the AP Assembly on December 18, 2015 suspending Ms Roja from attending the House for a year for abusing the leader of the House.

The single judge had suspended the motion on the ground that AP legislative affairs minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu had wrongly quoted Rule 340 (2) of the AP Assembly Rules while moving the motion to suspend the member and had held that the member had the right to attend the ongoing Budget session. But despite the order, Ms Roja had been denied entry into the Assembly and the AP government had moved the appeal before the Bench.

While upholding the po-wer of the House to suspend a member to keep the dignity of the House, the Bench opined that the continuation of the interim order of the single judge was nothing but allowing of the writ petition of the respondent MLA before the single judge.

The MLA had sought a direction from the single judge to declare the motion moved by the House for her suspension as illegal. The Bench said that a procedural irregularity did not take away the power of the House to take action against a member.

Senior Supreme Court counsel Mr P.P. Rao, appearing on behalf of the AP government, contended that courts could not have a judicial review on an order passed by the legislature and under Article 194(3) of the Constitution, the legislature had the power to rectify the irregularity.

The Bench agreed that the courts had limited scope for judicial review in the matters pertaining to the orders of the Legislature. Remanding the matter back to the single judge, the Bench asked the judge to hear the matter and pass appropriate orders as early as possible on the petition of the respondent MLA.

The Bench asked the secretary of the Legislative Affairs ministry and secretary of the AP Assembly to file their counter affidavits before the single judge by March 28.