SC quashes nomination of Kodandaram and Amir Ali Khan as MLCs

Hyderabad: Upholding the Telangana High Court’s interim orders, the Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the nominations of M Kodandaram and Amir Ali Khan as Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) under the Governor’s quota

Acting on a petition filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders Sravan Dasoju and K Satyanarayana, the apex court cancelled the nominations of the two as MLCs.

The SC ordered the stay while hearing arguments that the appointments had violated previous interim orders of the Telangana High Court.

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 clarified that any appointments made under the Governor’s quota would be subject to the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings. In March 2024, the Telangana High Court quashed both the then Governor’s rejection of the BRS nominees and the subsequent nominations of Kodandaram and Khan, ordering a status quo.

The latter nominations replaced previous recommendations by the BRS government in August 2023 for Dasoju Sravan and Kurra Satyanarayana, which had been rejected by then Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, citing their political affiliations. The Congress government again declared Kodandaram and Khan as nominees, prompting further legal challenges from the BRS leaders.

The Supreme Court’s stay has halted these appointments.

Welcoming the stay order, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said the Supreme Court has dealt a blow to the BJP and Congress. “In the past, when the BJP misused the Governor’s system to obstruct the proposals of two MLCs sent by the BRS, the Congress, which came to power later, recommended two other names while the process was still pending, thereby mocking democracy,” KTR said on his social media handle.