The Telangana High Court on Monday ordered the Director General of Police not to stop the legislators from entering the Assembly for the ongoing eighth session of the Assembly. Justice T. Madhavi Devi of the HC, after hearing contentions in a writ petition filed by way of lunch motion, made it clear that it was for the Speaker and ‘not the police’ to take action if there was any violation of the rules of the Assembly.
The judge directed the head of the police force to identify the erring police officials and take strict action against them. The judge wanted the DGP to file a report on the issue and posted the hearing to September 21.
The lunch motion was moved by BRS, represented by its MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav, contending that police had prevented their MLAs from entering the Assembly without any authority. Senior counsel Gandra Mohan Rao, appearing for the petitioners, sought a direction to police not to stop them.
The Government Pleader for Home Mahesh Raje, said as per Rule 316 and clauses xiii and xv of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Assembly, no MLA should wear or display badges of any kind in the House. The police might have stopped the legislators since they wore black T-shirts with slogans, the GP said, seeking time for further instructions on the matter.
On seeing the photographs of the woman legislators being stalled by the police before the Assembly furnished by the petitioner, the judge observed that ‘circumstances can be different but treating women like that was not acceptable’. Noting that photographs cannot lie, the judge remarked that male MLAs wore T shirts with some badges and slogans but the woman MLAs did not wear any specific dress.
“Police cannot become so hyper and behave in this manner…this sort of behaviour by police is not acceptable,” the judge remarked. The bench issued notices to the Home Secretary, DGP, Hyderabad Police Commissioner, Assembly Secretary and Khairatabad Deputy Commissioner of Police and directed them to reply within two weeks.
