The Supreme Court held a hearing on Monday regarding the disqualification of MLAs who switched parties in Telangana. The case was reviewed by a bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice George Masih. The petition was filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy.
During the proceedings, Kaushik Reddy’s lawyer pointed out that the Telangana High Court had directed the Speaker in March last year to decide on the disqualification of these MLAs within four months. However, no decision has been made so far. The lawyer argued that the Speaker had not acted within a reasonable timeframe.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Assembly Secretariat, informed the court that notices had already been sent to the MLAs in question. He also referenced a previous Supreme Court ruling that stated Speakers must be allowed adequate time to decide on disqualification cases. Justice Gavai then asked Rohatgi to specify how much more time the Speaker would need to make a decision.
After hearing these arguments, the Supreme Court decided to postpone the next hearing by one week.
