The country’s highest court has issued a key verdict on the defection of MLAs in Telangana. The Supreme Court has ordered the Assembly Speaker to take a decision on the disqualification of MLAs within three months. It is not right to keep the defection petition pending for years without taking a decision, a bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih ruled.
The bench however rejected the petitioners’ plea to have the court itself remove them. The Congress party won the Telangana Legislative Assembly elections in November 2023 and came to power. A few days later, 10 MLAs who won on the BRS party car symbol joined the Congress party.
Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Arikapudi Gandhi, Kale Yadayya, Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy, Danam Nagender, Tellam Venkat Rao, Kadiyam Srihari, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, Prakash Goud, and Dr. Sanjay joined the Congress party.
BRS party MLAs Padi Kaushik Reddy and KP Vivekananda Goud filed petitions with the Speaker seeking disqualification of the MLAs who had switched parties. As the Speaker did not take a decision, first they approached the Telangana High Court and later filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. Along with them, BRS party working president KTR also filed a writ petition.
The Supreme Court has heard these petitions a total of nine times in the past. The bench reserved the verdict on April 3 after hearing the arguments of both the parties. The main purpose of these petitions is to request the Speaker to take action against the MLAs who have defected under the Prevention of Defection Act. The petitioners alleged that the Speaker is delaying in taking a decision on this issue. Assembly Speaker Prasad Kumar and the MLAs who have defected have been included as respondents in the case.
The Supreme Court today issued the final verdict after arguments from both the parties. The Speaker has been given a deadline of 3 months, i.e. October 31, to decide on the disqualification petitions of the MLAs who have changed parties. With this, what kind of action the Assembly Speaker will take has become a hot topic.