The country’s highest court, the Supreme Court, asked whether courts remain silent even if the Speaker has not taken any action on the disqualification of MLAs for four years? Justice BR Gavai made it clear that the courts will act as the guardians of the Constitution.
A hearing was held in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, on the matter of the BRS MLAs defection into Congress. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued on behalf of the Telangana Assembly Speaker and said that the courts cannot take away the special powers granted to the Speaker by the Constitution, and that only once he has taken a decision can there be a possibility of judicial review.
Rohatgi said that it is not reasonable for the court to tell the Speaker to take a decision with a time limit. If suggestions are made, should they be accepted? Or not? The Speaker’s final decision is the one, and that one constitutional system cannot dominate another constitutional system.
Later, Justice BR Gavai, on behalf of the petitioners, responded and asked, “Can’t we tell the Speaker to take a decision at the right time? Should we appeal to him? Should we order him?”
Responding to this, Rohatgi said that a petition was filed in the court within a week of the complaint to the Speaker to take action against the MLAs. He said that they have been filing one after the other writ petitions without even having a chance to examine them.
Justice BR Gavai intervened on Mukul Rohatgi’s arguments. He said that the courts act as the guardians of the constitution. If the Speaker does not take any action against the MLAs who have changed their party for four years, should the courts be watching?, he asked.
Rohatgi said that the Speaker cannot act according to the wishes of the petitioners on the defection. He told the court that the petitioners had complained to the Speaker on March 18, 2024, and that the Speaker was discharging his duties by issuing notices to 10 MLAs on January 16, 2025.
BRS leaders recently filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging that appropriate action had not been taken despite the orders of the Telangana High Court. The arguments on the petition filed by the party’s working president KTR and MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy concluded last week. The latest arguments were held in the court today.