Telangana HC Posts Hearing of Disqualification Petition of BRS Defectors to July 3

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court adjourned the hearing in the petitions seeking directions to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to disqualify MLAs from the BRS who had defected, including Danam Nagender, Tellam Venkat Rao and Kadiam Srihari, to July 3.

Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy heard the two petitions filed by BRS MLAs K.P. Vivekananda and Padi Kaushik Reddy seeking directions to the Speaker to take a decision on the disqualification petitions , immediately.

Senior counsel Aryam Sundaram representing the petitioners, submitted to the court that the outer line time period fixed to take decision on disqualification petitions is three months but the Speaker of the House had neither taken a decision nor had he proceeded any further over the disqualification applications.

The counsel submitted that it is the constitutional duty of the Speaker to act on the disqualification petitions. He cannot postpone as this amounts to violation of constitutional provisions.

Further, the senior counsel cited the case of Rajendra Singh Rana versus Swami Prasad Maurya in which the Supreme Court ruled that the High Court can direct Speakers to rule on disqualification petitions if they do not do this within a reasonable time. Hence, he argued before the High Court and sought directions to the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions immediately.

With the paucity of time, the court adjourned the hearing to July 3 for further hearing.