Supreme Court hears plea on delay in disqualification of defected BRS legislators

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran had previously sought clarification from the Telangana Legislative Assembly on what defines a "reasonable period" for resolving disqualification pleas. During the hearing on Monday, Justice Gavai reminded senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who was representing the Assembly Secretary, that he was expected to obtain instructions regarding this timeline.

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Monday heard BRS working president KT Rama Rao and MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy’s petitions challenging the delay in deciding disqualification petitions against 10 MLAs who defected from BRS to the ruling Congress. The next hearing has been posted to February 18, after the Assembly Secretary sought more time.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran had earlier questioned the Telangana Legislative Assembly on what constitutes a “reasonable period” for deciding disqualification pleas. When the matter was taken up on Monday, Justice Gavai reminded senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Assembly Secretary, that he was to seek instructions on this timeline.

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Rohatgi requested additional time, to which Justice Gavai firmly stated, “In a democracy, rights of parties can’t be permitted to be frustrated.” The court scheduled the next hearing for February 18. Justice Chandran added, “If you don’t give us reasonable time, we are reasonable men.”