On Tuesday, the High Court Division Bench, consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Srinivas Rao, reviewed three writ appeals filed by the Telangana Assembly Secretary. These appeals challenged an earlier ruling made by a single judge.
Advocate General Sudershan Reddy represented the Telangana State Legislative Assembly Secretary. He requested the court to dismiss the orders issued by the single judge of the Telangana High Court. Senior Counsel Jandhyala Ravi Shankar also appeared on behalf of Danam Nagender, supporting the appeal.
The Advocate General and Senior Counsel argued that the single judge had wrongly directed the Assembly Secretary to present the disqualification petitions to the Speaker for scheduling. They stated that such an order should not be given to the Secretary, as the Secretary does not have the authority to decide the Speaker’s actions.
The petitioners in the case had approached the court within ten days of filing their disqualification petitions. However, according to the rules, the Speaker has up to three months to review such petitions before taking any action.
Furthermore, the Advocate General and Senior Counsel argued that the single judge’s order was premature. They explained that the Speaker had not yet made a decision, and the petitioners had rushed to court before the Speaker had the chance to act.
In their argument, a previous five-judge bench judgment from the Supreme Court was cited, which clearly states that courts cannot instruct the Speaker of a State Assembly to take action on disqualification petitions.
As a result, the Advocate General and Senior Counsel requested the High Court to set aside the single judge’s order.
Previously, on September 9, Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy had ordered the Telangana State Legislative Assembly Secretary to present the disqualification petitions of Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, and Tellam Venkat Rao to the Speaker. The judge gave a four-week deadline for the Speaker to schedule hearings and other related actions, such as the submission of documents and personal hearings.
The court had also instructed the Assembly Secretary to report back with the schedule within four weeks. If the Secretary failed to do so, the single judge warned that the case would be reopened on its own. The case has been adjourned until Wednesday for further hearing.
