Telangana High Court Declines to Hear PIL on Defected MLAs
The Telangana High Court, on Friday, declined to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Dr. Kilari Anand Paul, President of the Praja Shanti Party. Dr. Paul’s PIL sought a direction to disqualify 10 MLAs who had defected to the Congress Party without resigning from their original party. He also requested that these MLAs not be allowed to participate in the upcoming Assembly proceedings.
The division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sreenivas Rao, observed that three writ petitions had already been filed seeking action against some of the MLAs for defection. These petitions were against MLAs Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadradri-Kothagudem), and Kadiam Srihari (Ghanpur).
A single judge, Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy, had heard these cases in detail and reserved orders on August 7. Since the orders were still pending, the division bench was not inclined to hear Dr. Paul’s PIL at this stage. However, Dr. Paul was given the liberty to take the matter up before Justice Reddy’s bench.
In his petition, Dr. Paul mentioned that 10 MLAs from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and other parties had defected to the Congress. These MLAs included Nagender, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy (Gadwal), Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada), Kale Yadiah (Chevella), T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), M Sanjay Kumar (Jagtal), Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), and Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampally). The petition was ultimately disposed of by the court.
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PIL on Paddy Sale Alleging a Loss of Rs. 1,100 Crore to State
In another case, the Telangana High Court issued notices to several government officials regarding a PIL that alleged large-scale illegalities in the sale of paddy, resulting in a significant loss to the state exchequer. The court directed the officials, including the Principal Secretary (Consumer Affairs, Food, and Civil Supplies), Managing Director of Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd., and the Commissioner of Civil Supplies, to respond within four weeks.
The PIL was filed by Peddi Sudarshan Reddy, a former MLA from Warangal district, who claimed that illegal activities within the Civil Supplies Corporation led to a loss of Rs. 1,100 crore. The petitioner’s counsel, Avinash Desai, informed the court that the corporation sold paddy at Rs. 20,040 per metric ton (MT), while the market price was Rs. 22,300 per MT, resulting in a loss of Rs. 188.7 crore.
Additionally, even after the expiration of the 90-day tender period on May 25, 2023, private bidders were allowed to purchase paddy at the lower rate of Rs. 20,040 per MT. The bidders included organizations like Kendriya Bhandar, National Federation of Farmers Procurement Processing and Retailing Cooperative of India Ltd., and several others. This led to a further loss of Rs. 2,260 per MT.
The petitioner requested the court to forfeit the earnest money and security deposits of the millers involved in these tenders. He argued that, with the support of the corporation and government machinery, the bidders had illegally taken away the paddy after the tender period had expired.
The hearing in the case was adjourned for four weeks to allow time for the filing of counter-affidavits.
