New Delhi, Feb 10 (UNI) In a significant development, the Supreme Court emphasized that “the rights of a party in a democracy cannot be permitted to be frustrated” as it sought clarity on the “reasonable time” required for the Telangana Assembly Speaker to decide disqualification pleas against BRS MLAs who defected to the Congress.
A bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran was hearing petitions, including one filed by the BRS, over the delay in deciding the disqualification cases.
Justice Chandran pointedly asked, “In your perception, what is reasonable time? Reasonable has to be as per the dictionary meaning.”
The Apex Court questioned whether the term “reasonable time” could imply the entire term of the assembly and insisted that the matter should be addressed urgently. “If you don’t give us a reasonable time, we are reasonable men,” Justice Chandran remarked.
The petitions challenged a Telangana High Court order in November 2024 that instructed the Speaker to address the disqualification pleas against three BRS MLAs—Danam Nagender, Tellam Venkat Rao, and Kadiyam Srihari—who had defected to the Congress.
The court had stressed that the Speaker must handle the petitions in a “reasonable time” considering the period of pendency, the tenth schedule of the Constitution, and the assembly’s tenure.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel pointed out that a previous three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had defined “reasonable time” as within three months, barring exceptional circumstances. The Telangana Assembly’s counsel requested a week for further arguments.
The bench posted the matter for February 18, reminding that democratic rights must not be undermined.
