HYDERABAD: In a significant judicial ruling, a Division Bench of the Telangana High Court, led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, overturned Telangana Governor Tamilsai Soundararajan's rejection letter from September 2023 regarding the appointment of Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) under the Governor quota.
The court emphasized that in matters related to MLC appointments, the governor must act upon the advice of the state cabinet. The verdict came in response to a petition by BRS nominees Dasoju Sravan Kumar and Kurra Satyanarayana, contesting the governor's authority to reject their nominations.
The Division Bench not only favored the BRS nominees but also invalidated the appointment of two new nominees, M. Kodanda Ram and Amir Ali, approved by the governor and notified in the gazette.
Senior advocates Aditya Sondhi and B. Mayur Reddy, representing the BRS nominees, argued that the governor had exceeded her constitutional mandate outlined in Article 171(5). While acknowledging the governor's prerogative to raise objections about nominee eligibility, the court maintained that any such objections must be referred back to the state cabinet for consideration.