SC Annuls Nominations Of Kodandaram, Khan As MLCs Under Gov’s Quota

Hyderabad:The Supreme Court on Wednesday annulled the nominations of Prof. M. Kodandaram and journalist Amer Ali Khan as the MLCs under Governor’s quota.

The two seats will now fall vacant and the Supreme Court made it clear that the two MLCs had to “re-route their entry” (into Legislative Council) through fresh recommendations.

The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment on September 17.

Trouble started with then Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan rejecting the recommendation of K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s Cabinet to nominate Dasoju Sravan Kumar and Kurra Satyanarayana. After change in the government, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy got clearance from new Governor Jishnudev Varma for candidatures of Kodandaram and Khan.

The Telangana High Court quashed the Governor’s rejection and subsequent nominations. However, the BRS leaders approached the apex court against the High Court order which didn’t agree to their plea to direct the Governor to consider their nomination.

The Supreme Court stayed the High Court order based on which Kodandaram and Khan took oath.

While agreeing that there was a mistake in the earlier stay orders issued by the Supreme Court on August 14, 2024, the division bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta on Wednesday modified its interim orders by deleting the word “stay” on the Telangana High Court orders in March 2024.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday annulled the subsequent action after the interim orders dated August 14, 2024.

During the arguments, the bench observed that the two MLCs have to re-route their entry. Let it be recommended again, it said.

The court said that it was improper for Kodandaram and Khan to be sworn in after the Telangana High Court’s orders.

The Supreme Court further ruled that any future nominations to the two contested MLC seats will be treated as provisional until the matter is conclusively heard.

Attorney General R. Venkataramani, appearing on behalf of the Governor, argued that the Governor had followed constitutional norms and acted solely on the advice of the Congress Cabinet. He also questioned the High Court’s rationale in overturning the Governor’s prior rejection.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing the petitioners Sravan Kumar and Satyanarayana, highlighted that the Governor had declined to respond in the High Court proceedings, a stance that Justice Vikram Nath described as “very unfortunate.”

The Supreme Court, however, maintained that its focus remains on interpreting constitutional provisions and the limits of discretion in legislative appointments under Article 171(5).