Relief For 2 Trs Mlas As Hc Suspends Speaker’s Order

Relief for 2 TRS MLAs as HC suspends speaker’s order 1 Jan 2009, 0528 hrs IST, TNN HYDERABAD: The AP High Court on Wednesday stayed the order of Speaker K R Suresh Reddy disqualifying two TRS legislators and dismissed the contention that courts cannot overrule the speaker. The disqualification of TRS MLAs Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy and Soyam Bapu Rao was suspended till January 28, 2009 by the division bench comprising Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave and Justice R Subhash Reddy who heard two separate writ petitions filed by the legislators challenging the Speaker's order. The bench posted the matter to January 22 for further hearing and directed the respondents to file their replies. T Jayaprakash Reddy, the third disqualified rebel TRS MLA, did not move the court. Counsel for the petitioners argued that the speaker did not consider Articles 171 and 2 (1) (A) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution which allow the liberty to the legislators to vote for the MLC contestants irrespective of their political affiliations. The legislators have the right to vote which includes the right to propose, the counsel said. Hence, the action of the legislators in proposing the independent MLC candidate Kasani Gnaneswar need not be faulted, he said. The bench at this stage asked the legislative secretariat's counsel as to how it attracted the penalty of disqualification when it is the right of the members to vote. The TRS counsel referred to various earlier orders of the apex court and also of other high courts and said as per those judgments, the legislators are liable to be disqualified. He also told the bench that the order of the speaker cannot be suspended by courts. The bench did not agree with this and suspended the speaker's order. However, the bench deleted the name of the speaker from the petition following the objection raised by the counsel for AP legislative secretariat, Jandhyala Ravishankar and made the assembly secretary a respondent in his place.

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