Maheshwar Reddy Urges Telangana HC to Dismiss Appeal on Disqualification

Hyderabad: Aleti Maheshwar Reddy, BJP floor leader in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, contended before the Telangana High Court that the secretary of the Legislative Assembly lacks the legal right to file an appeal challenging the orders of the single judge in the issue related to disqualification of BRS members, who had defected.

Instead of filing an appeal against the single judge orders, the secretary should have followed the order and placed the disqualification applications before the Speaker, he argued.

Further, Maheshwar Reddy submitted that the secretary’s arguments on judicial interference in legislative affairs had no standing.

He said that only he had approached the High Court, when the Speaker, the constitutional and ceremonial head of the House, was wriggling out to accept the disqualification petitions.

As a constitutional authority, the Speaker has to defend the sanctity of the institution but it was not being done. Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, who won the Assembly elections on a BRS ticket, had without resigning from the party contested Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket, J. Prabhakar, counsel for Maheswar Reddy, submitted to the High Court in a batch of appeals filed by the Assembly secretary challenging the September 9 single judge order. It had directed the secretary to place the disqualification petitions before the speaker and furnish the schedule of hearing on the said petitions.

The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, was hearing appeals filed by the secretary and the defected MLAs.

As the arguments were inconclusive, the court adjourned the hearing to Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier, the division bench rejected the plea of K.A. Paul, president of Prajashanti Party, who requested the court to issue directions restraining the defected MLAs from attending the Assembly session.

The bench made it clear that it is not appropriate to put pressure on the court to decide constitutional matters. Paul filed an interim application in the PIL filed by him seeking directions to disqualify the defected MLAs and to direct the Election Commission to cancel their membership. As the petition is pending, Paul filed an interim application and on Monday sought directions to restrain the defected MLAs from attending the assembly session. The court suggested to him that instead of putting pressure on the courts, sensitise the voters not to elect candidates defying rules.