Delay by Speaker on petitions ‘unreasonable’, bench told
Senior counsel Gandra Ram Mohan Rao on Thursday told a division bench of the Telangana High Court that the Legislative Assembly Speaker had been unreasonably delaying action on the disqualification petitions against three BRS MLAs who had defected to the Congress though they were filed months ago under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Mohan Rao said his clients — BRS MLAs KP Vivekananda and Padi Kaushik Reddy, and BJP MLA Aleti Maheshwar Reddy — were concerned that such delays could pave the way for more defections, benefiting the ruling party. Due to the paucity of time, the bench has adjourned the matter to Friday for further hearing.
Margadarsi ordered to submit subscriber list in digital format
The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed Margadarsi Financiers to submit details of its subscribers in electronic format (pen drive) by December 15. The order came after the firm’s objection, the Information Technology Act did not apply to the matter at hand, and that providing subscriber details in electronic form was not feasible. But, the court disagreed with this stance, insisting on the submission of the requested data in digital form. The case, revolving around the collection and return of subscriptions, has raised several legal questions regarding the legality of Margadarsi’s financial practices. The court also called into question whether the collected subscriptions have been properly returned.
PIL against illegal toddy shops prompts notice to government
A bench of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao, issued notices to the state of Telangana, represented by its Principal Secretary of the Prohibition and Excise Department, along with the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Prohibition and Excise department, in a PIL filed by Siddhagoni Balraj seeking closure of illegal toddy shops in Hyderabad district and surrounding areas, citing public health concerns and violation of the law. The petitioner contended that despite representations made to the authorities, there has been no action taken to address the issue.