Supreme Court Adjourns Telangana Speaker Disqualification Case, Cites Lack of Formal Notice - 2025-04-02

Supreme Court Adjourns Telangana Speaker Disqualification Case Over Notice Issue

New Delhi, March 4, 2025 – The Supreme Court of India, in a hearing today, adjourned the petitions filed by Padi Kaushik Reddy against the State of Telangana and others. The bench, comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih , cited the lack of formal notice to the respondents as the primary reason for adjournment.

Case Overview and Initial Proceedings

The matter arises from Special Leave Petitions (SLP(C) Nos. 2353-2354/2025) challenging a judgment by the High Court for The State of Telangana at Hyderabad dated November 22, 2024. These petitions are related to Writ Petition (c) No. 82/2025.

During previous hearings, the Supreme Court had explored the possibility of the Speaker of the Telangana State Legislative Assembly providing a timeline for deciding the matter, aiming to potentially avoid judicial intervention. However, the Secretary of the Telangana State Legislative Assembly indicated that no such statement could be made on behalf of the Speaker.

Objection on Lack of Formal Notice

Today’s hearing saw Senior Counsels C. Aryama Sundaram and Dama Sheshadri Naidu argue for the petitioners. However, Senior Counsels Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Mukul Rohatgi , representing the respondents, raised a "hypertechnical" objection, stating that no formal notice had been issued in these matters. Consequently, the respondents had not been able to file a reply.

Court's Decision: Adjournment and Formal Notice

Acknowledging the technicality but emphasizing principles of natural justice, the Supreme Court bench decided to adjourn the proceedings. The court order stated:

> “No doubt that the objection is hypertechnical, however we propose to adjourn the matter so that no objection is raised at a subsequent point of time by the respondents that the petitions were decided without following the principles of natural justice.”

The court proceeded to issue formal notices to the respondents in both the SLP and the Writ Petition. The notices are returnable on March 25, 2025 .

Waiver of Notice and Service Details

Notably, Ms. Devina Sehgal, learned counsel, waived the requirement of formal notice for the State of Telangana, and Shri Sravan Kumar Karanam, learned counsel, waived it for the Legislative Assembly.

For the remaining respondents, the court directed service through the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court of Telangana, instructing them to ensure service is completed before the returnable date. The order also clarified that respondents are expected to complete their pleadings before March 25, 2025.

Next Steps

The matters are now scheduled to be taken up on March 25, 2025, at Serial No. 1 in the court's list. This adjournment underscores the Supreme Court's commitment to procedural fairness and ensuring all parties have adequate opportunity to respond in legal proceedings, even when objections appear technical in nature.