Telangana High Court on Tuesday passed an order to maintain status quo over the notification appointing M. Kodandaram and Amir Ali Khan as MLCs under Governor quota till February 8.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, after hearing arguments in two interim applications pertaining to two writ petitions filed by Dasoju Sravan Kumar and Kurra Satyanarayana, gave the direction. Mr. Kumar and Satyanarayana filed two writ petitions challenging rejection of their nomination by earlier BRS government as MLCs under Governor quota.
While the two pleas were pending for adjudication, the newly formed Congress government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy nominated M. Kodandaram and Amir Ali Khan as MLCs under Governor quota. A GO Ms no. 12 was issued nominating them as MLCs on January 27.
The petitioners filed filed interim applications seeking to stay the GO and to implead Mr. Kodandaram and Mr. Khan as respondents in the writ petitions. Supreme Court senior counsel Aditya Sondhi, presenting his contentions, said the State government’s decision to recommend two new persons as MLCs even as the rejection of the earlier ones was pending for adjudication was not correct.
The senior counsel said the government had assured the court that it would not take any fresh decision on recommending new candidates as MLCs in Governor quota as the matter was pending for decision. Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy said the order appointing two persons as MLCs afresh was issued under the Representation of People’s Act on January 24. The Governor’s office also issued a notification in this backdrop, he said.
Mr. Kodandram and Mr. Khan were supposed to be sworn in as MLCs the previous day but the ceremony was rescheduled to Tuesday. However, the ceremony was again deferred due to some reasons on Tuesday as well.
With the HC’s order to maintain status quo in the matter, their swearing in ceremony is deferred till February 8 when the matter would be again heard by the HC.
