Legislature secretary challenges order of single judge on defection of BRS MLAs

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench of CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao on Tuesday heard three writ appeals filed by Dr V Narasimha Charyulu, secretary, State Legislature, challenging the order of the single judge on the defection of three BRS MLAs into the Congress party. The bench reserved orders which will be pronounced in a couple of days.

The CJ bench, while hearing the writs filed by the Assembly secretary, had earlier issued notices to the Principal Secretary (Law department), the Assembly Speaker, Election Commission and the three MLAs--Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadradri Kothagudem), Kadiam Srihari (Ghanpur-SC) and Danam Nagender (Khairatabad).

While issuing notices, it gave liberty to the State Advocate-General to approach the court in case any precipitative action is taken by the single judge before October 24.

The single judge bench of Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy on September 9 had directed the secretary to the speaker to forthwith place the disqualification petitions of the three MLAs, which are pending, before him for fixing a schedule of hearing (filing of pleadings, documents, personal hearing) within four weeks.

He also directed the secretary to inform the court about the schedule so fixed to be communicated to the registrar (judicial) within four weeks, failing which he made it amply clear that if nothing is heard within four weeks the court will reopen the batch of writs suo motu and pass appropriate orders.

Dr Narasimha Charyulu in the writ appeals sought suspension of the single judge order on the ground that the petitioners in the three writs, who are BRS MLAs Padi Kaushik Reddy and Kuna Pandu Vivekananda had made false allegations on presumption and assumption that the Speaker will not adjudicate on the pending disqualification petitions as the SC has made it amply clear that the he cannot pass orders at pre-decision stage.

HC stays probe into criminal case against ‘Namaste Telangana’ chairman & MD, editor

In a major relief to D Damodar Rao, the chairman and MD, and T Krishna Murthy, editor, ‘Namaste Telangana’, Justice Kunuru Lakshman on Tuesday ordered stay on the investigation into FIR 1232/2024 dated November 1, 2024, U/s 3192, 338, 3402, 3532, 612a R/w Section 35 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, registered in Meerpet police station.

He directed the police not to arrest the petitioners in the case and issued notices to the State.

The judge was adjudicating criminal petition filed by Damodar Rao seeking a direction to quash the FIR for offence under few sections of BNS-2023.

The case was registered against the petitioners on a complaint lodged by the Balapur tahsildar on October 31 stating the revenue officials had come across a news item in ‘Namaste Telangana’ that assigned lands in survey no 92, allotted to SCs and STs are being sold by some villagers to one Praveen Reddy in violation Section 3(3) of the Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 (which says no landless poor person shall transfer any assigned land; no person should acquire it).

During hearing, Justice Lakshman questioned public prosecutor Palle Nageshwar Rao how the police can register the case against the petitioners without substantiating their stand with cogent evidence.

Banda Shivananda Prasad, former Advocate-General and senior counsel for petitioners, said the offences under the sections cited are cheating, forgery of valuable security, using forged documents as genuine documents, offences under SC-ST (PoA), Act, 1989; but there is no incident where the petitioners have resorted to such offences; the counter-affidavit filed by the State also does not speak about the offences inserted in the FIR.

The hearing was adjourned to December 5.