LI Network
Published on: January 8, 2024 at 10:10 IST
The Telangana High Court has postponed the hearing regarding the Governor’s dismissal of the Cabinet’s MLC recommendations, urging a more restrained approach until the next session.
Justices Alok Aradhe and Surepalli Nanda of the Division Bench deferred the plea at the respondents’ request, granting them time to file objections on the plea’s admissibility.
“The learned Senior Counsel for respondent No.1 (The Governor) argues that the petitioners’ writs may not be maintainable considering the constraints in Article 361 of the Constitution of India. However, he seeks a brief adjournment to submit an objection concerning the writs’ admissibility,” the Court stated.
Last week, candidates whose recommendations faced rejection petitioned the Chief Justice’s Bench via a writ, leading to its registration, with the issue of admissibility added as a primary concern.
During the recent hearing, Senior Counsel Aditya Sondhi, representing the petitioners, cited the Nabam Rebia and Bamang Feliz v. Deputy Speaker, Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (2015) case to argue that unless explicitly granted discretionary powers, the Governor must abide by the Council of Ministers’ recommendations.
Moreover, it was contended that actions beyond the Governor’s authority were subject to judicial review, validating the maintainability of the writs.
In contrast, Senior Counsel S. Ashok Anand Kumar, representing the Governor, contended that the writs weren’t maintainable under Article 361(2) of the Indian Constitution, seeking time to present his arguments in written form.
During the proceedings, the petitioners sought a temporary stay on the appointment of alternate MLC members, citing a similar case stayed by the Supreme Court. However, the respondents vehemently opposed this, asserting the plea’s lack of admissibility.
Chief Justice Alok Aradhe urged a more cautious approach, suggesting a temporary halt on actions until the January 24th. He emphasized the need to first establish the maintainability of the case before proceeding further.