The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the speaker of the Telangana Assembly to decide within two weeks on pending disqualification petitions against MLAs who defected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi to the ruling Congress, Live Law reported.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and AG Masih was hearing a compliance petition in the matter, following its July 31 order directing the speaker to decide within three months on the disqualification of the MLAs.
On November 17, the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to the speaker for refusing to act within the timeline. The matter was heard again on Thursday.
During Thursday’s hearing, the court was informed that seven of the 10 petitions have been disposed of. The counsel for the state government sought two weeks to decide on the remaining three, Live Law reported.
“Two weeks more and we will do it,” Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for the state was quoted as saying. “The speaker went to the hospital for eye surgery and the secretary general also changed. It is little bit of an overlap.”
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi had appealed to Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar between March 2024 and April 2024 against the 10 MLAs, who had defected after being elected on the party’s ticket in the 2023 Assembly election.
The tenth schedule states that a member of the House shall be disqualified if, after getting elected, they give up the membership of their party or join another political party.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi had approached the Supreme Court alleging that the speaker was not initiating any action against the defected MLAs despite repeated petitions.
In July, the Supreme Court had said that if political defections are not curbed, it has the potential to disrupt democracy.
The bench had also set aside a Telangana High Court ruling at the time, which held that courts cannot impose a time limit on the speaker to decide disqualification pleas.
Those who had defected to Congress after winning from a Bharat Rashtra Samithi ticket in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections are: Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, Tellam Venkat Rao, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Kale Yadaiah, M Sanjay Kumar, Krishnamohan Reddy, Mahipal Reddy, Prakash Goud and Arekapudi Gandhi.
Petitions against Kadiyam Srihari, Danam Nagendar and M Sanjay Kumar are pending before the Speaker, The Hindu reported.
On Thursday, the speaker dismissed petitions against two legislators – Chevella MLA Kale Yadaiah and Banswada MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy – while five others had been dismissed in December.
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