Hyderabad: In a Tuesday afternoon ruling, the Telangana High Court directed a status quo on the January 25 notification appointing Prof. Kodandaram and Amir Ali Khan as Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) under the Governor Quota. The swearing-in ceremony scheduled for tomorrow (January 31) has been temporarily halted until the next hearing.
The status quo remains in effect until February 8, the date set for the next hearing of writ petitions filed by Dr. Dasoju Sravan and Kurra Satynarayana before the Chief Justice Bench. The petitions challenge the rejection of their nominations by the Governor for the MLC position under the Governor Quota. The Chief Justice Bench criticized the State Government’s decision to recommend fresh nominations for MLCs when the petitions challenging the rejection were still pending adjudication.
On January 29, Sravan and Satyanarayana filed interim applications seeking a stay on the appointment of Kodandaram and Amir Ali Khan as MLCs through Government Order (GO) 12 dated January 27. Aditya Sondhi, representing Dasoji Sravan, opposed the State Government’s decision, stating it violated the gentleman’s agreement between the parties in court, wherein the State agreed not to recommend fresh names until February 8.
Advocate General Sudarshan Reddy informed the court that the order appointing the new MLCs had been passed under the Representation of the Peoples Act on January 24, leading to the issuance of the notification by the governor’s office.
The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, adjourned the case to February 8 for further proceedings.