SC tightens noose around Revanth Reddy over defection remarks: 'Did we commit a mistake by letting him off?'

Revanth Reddy, Chief Minister of Telangana. (File Photo: PTI)

For the second consecutive day, the Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over his recent remarks on by-elections in the state Assembly. A two-judge bench of the court, which took strong exception to the CM's remarks on Wednesday, today said it was wondering if it had erred in letting Reddy off in a past instance of alleged contempt.

The top court bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih was hearing pleas pertaining to an alleged delay on part of the Telangana Assembly Speaker in deciding on petitions seeking the disqualification of MLAs of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti who had jumped ship to the Congress party.

"Having experienced it on an earlier occasion, was your Chief Minister not expected to at least exercise some degree of restraint? So did we commit a mistake by letting him off that time, not taking action for contempt," Justice Gavai said, according to The Indian Express.

As per an English translation of the contentious remarks read out in court, Reddy said in the state Assembly: "Mr. Speaker, I am telling on your behalf, to everyone present in the Assembly that they need not worry about any bye-elections in future. No by-elections will come. There will be no by-elections even if the opposition MLAs want a bye-election. It won’t happen. Whether they come here or stay there, there will be no by-elections."

Appearing for the Assembly Speaker, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that Reddy's remarks may have been in response to the "provocations" by the Opposition benches which kept repeatedly referring to the matter pending in Supreme Court.

Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Aryama Sundaram said a BRS MLA only said that matters pending before the SC should not be discussed. "However, the Chief Minister responded that 'we have a right to say what we want'," Sundaram said.

“Harish Rao…has reminded us that the case is sub-judice before the Supreme Court. If I speak inside the House, there is some protection. But those who speak outside do not have any protection. This House is immune from certain laws. We can mention some things in the House. There is a protection under your leadership. There is a saying that bye-elections will be held next week or the other week. This is all nonsense, Mr. Speaker. Nothing is going to happen. Nothing is going to change. And no one needs to worry. There is no need to focus on bye-elections," CM Reddy was quoted as having said in response to the BRS MLA's remarks.

"We are not reacting. We are not bothered about what politicians said, but when the person already having faced similar circumstance, not even a year has gone by… We exercise self-restraint. We respect the same of the other two wings of democracy also," the court noted.

The Supreme Court's repeated reference to the earlier case refers to the hearing on a plea seeking transfer of trial in a 2015 cash-for-vote case against Reddy from Telangana to Bhopal in August last year.

The court was then informed that Reddy, while commenting on the grant of bail by the Supreme Court to BRS leader K Kavitha in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam case, had suggested a “deal between the BRS and BJP”. Following the court's criticism of the statement, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who then appeared for Reddy, tendered an apology.