HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday was told by the Advocate-General that the orders of a single judge directing the Assembly Secretary to place disqualification petitions pertaining to three BRS MLAs before the Speaker for scheduling a hearing at the pre-decisional stage was erroneous.
The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao was hearing writ appeals seeking setting aside of the orders passed by Justice B Vijaysen Reddy on September 9 directing the Assembly Secretary to place the disqualification petitions of Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari and Tellam Venkat Rao before the Speaker for scheduling a hearing.
The single judge had also instructed the Assembly Secretary to inform the court of the schedule within four weeks, and had made it clear that failure to comply would lead to the suo motu action.
On Tuesday, Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy, representing the Assembly Secretary, and senior counsel Ravi Shankar Jandhyala, appearing for Nagender, argued that the disqualification petitions were filed prematurely, as the petitioners moved court within 10 days of filing them. This was against established rules, the A-G and senior counsel said.
According to the rules, once a disqualification petition is filed in the Speaker’s office, the Speaker has three months to take action, they said.
They cited a five-judge bench judgment of the Supreme Court, which ruled that the courts cannot issue directions to the Speaker of a state Assembly to take action on disqualification petitions.
Courts can’t interfere before Speaker makes a decision: A-G
Arguing that seeking judicial intervention before the Speaker had made a decision on the petitions was premature and unlawful, the A-G and senior counsel urged the bench to set aside the single judge’s order.
In his orders, Justice Vijaysen Reddy had given four weeks to the Assembly Secretary to place the disqualification petitions before the Speaker and also finalise the schedule for hearings, including the filing of pleadings, documents, and personal hearings, by that time.
The single judge also instructed the Assembly Secretary to communicate the schedule to the Registrar of the High Court.
The A-G and senior counsel both argued that the Speaker, as per Constitutional provisions, is entrusted with the responsibility to decide on disqualification matters, and the courts cannot interfere in this process before a decision was made.
The arguments will continue on Wednesday.