Supreme Court Queries Telangana Assembly: How Long to Decide Disqualification Pleas Over BRS MLAs’ Shift to Congress?

Telangana MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, representing the BRS party, has petitioned the Supreme Court concerning the defection of three MLAs from his party to the ruling Congress. The Supreme Court recently questioned the Telangana State Legislative Assembly on what would constitute a “reasonable period” for deciding the disqualification petitions against these MLAs.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih scheduled the matter for February 10, directing Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Secretary of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, to obtain instructions from the Speaker. Justice Gavai specifically asked, “You tell us what is a reasonable time in your perception.”

The issue arose after the Telangana High Court’s Single Bench instructed the Assembly Speaker to establish a hearing schedule for the disqualification petitions within four weeks. However, this directive was overturned by a Division Bench citing the Supreme Court’s precedent in Subhash Desai v. Principal Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, which emphasizes that disqualification petitions should be decided within a reasonable period.

Background: Three MLAs—Venkata Rao Tellam, Kadiyam Srihari, and Danam Nagender—who were elected on a BRS ticket, switched allegiance to the ruling Congress party in Telangana. BRS MLAs Kuna Pandu Vivekananda and Padi Kaushik Reddy, along with BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, approached the Telangana High Court questioning the delay in the Speaker’s decision on the disqualification pleas, which had been pending for over three months.

The petitioners argued that the delay could potentially facilitate further defections to the ruling party. Meanwhile, the counsels representing the defecting MLAs and the state challenged the maintainability of the writ petition, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to mandate the Speaker to decide on disqualification pleas.

In September, the High Court’s Single Bench directed the Speaker to schedule a hearing within four weeks. This decision was appealed by the Telangana Legislative Assembly, leading to the Division Bench’s ruling in November 2024, emphasizing the need for the Speaker to decide disqualification petitions within a reasonable time frame, considering factors such as the petitions’ pendency and the assembly’s tenure.

MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy has now moved the Supreme Court challenging the Division Bench’s decision to overturn the Single Bench’s directive.

Legal Appearance: Senior Advocate Dama Sheshadri Naidu, along with Advocates P Mohith Rao, J Akshitha, Eugene S Philomene, Rahul Reddy, KMS Sivani represented the petitioner. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for the Secretary of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, while AAG T Rajnikant Reddy represented the State of Telangana.

Case Title: Padi Kaushik Reddy v. The State of Telangana and Others, SLP(C) No. 2353-2354/202