Telangana HC quashes Governor’s order rejecting nomination of MLCs

The High Court also quashed the recent nomination of M. Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan as MLCs under Governor quota.

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday quashed Telangana Governor’s order of September last year rejecting nomination of Dasoju Sravan Kumar and K. Satyanarayana to the Legislative Council.

It also quashed the recent nomination of M. Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan as MLCs under Governor quota. The nomination of Dasoju Sravan Kumar and Satyanarayana was recommended by the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) while Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan were nominated after the Congress party came to power.

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Pronouncing the orders on the petition of Sravan Kumar and Satyanarayana challenging Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s action in rejecting their nomination to the Legislative Council, the court held that the Governor is bound by the advice of the Cabinet. A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, which had reserved its orders on the petitions of Dasoju Sravan Kumar and Satyanarayana on February 15, pronounced the same on Thursday.

“A public law declaration is issued that the Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers while exercising powers under Article 171(5) of the Constitution. However, it is open for the Governor to examine the issues of eligibility or disqualification of a person recommended by the Council of Ministers, to the Legislative Council,” reads the order.

The court noted that the Governor has the power to remit the matter to the Council of Ministers either to furnish requisite documents/information or for re-consideration of the recommendation made by the Council of Ministers. The Governor is not answerable to the Court in view of Article 361 of the Constitution of India. No positive direction can be issued to the Governor.

However, in the facts and circumstances of these cases, this Court hopes and trusts that suitable action in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution shall be taken,” the court ruled. Sravan Kumar and Satyanarayana were nominated to the Legislative Council by the previous BRS government but Governor Soundararajan had rejected the nominations.

The recommendation passed by the then state Cabinet in July last year was sent to the Governor. However, she rejected the nominations on September 19 on the ground that the two were “politically aligned persons”.

Following the change of guards in the state after the defeat of BRS in Assembly elections, the BRS leaders filed petitions challenging the Governor’s action.
The petitioners contended that the decision taken by the Governor to reject the recommendations of the Council of Ministers was due to “lack of personal satisfaction” and not due to any ambiguity in the recommendation itself, which is arbitrary therefore illegal.

The petitioners called “the order passed by the Governor as mala fide, arbitrary, unconstitutional and in excess of her jurisdiction. The Governor on January 27 nominated Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) president M. Kodandaram and journalist Amer Ali Khan as members of Telangana Legislative Council. Gazette notifications in this regard were also issued.

On the petitions of Sravan Kumar and Satyanarayana, the High Court on January 30 had stayed the swearing-in of Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan as members of Telangana Legislative Council.