New Delhi: A petition challenging the
continuance of N Kiran Kumar Reddy as Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister has been withdrawn from the Supreme Court by MLA S
Venu Gopala Chary after the former won a no-trust motion last
week.
A bench of justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Mishra
permitted counsel Sateesh Galla to withdraw the petition as
"it had become infructous" in view of Reddy`s victory in the
motion moved by Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu.
Chary had earlier moved the apex court questioning
Reddy`s propriety and legal validity of continuing as chief
minister on the ground that the Congress had "lost" majority
in the House after 79 party legislators resigned on the twin
issue of Telangana and support to YSR Congress.
The SLP, filed by S Venu Gopala Chary, a Telangana
Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLA from Adilabad, challenged the Andhra
Pradesh High Court`s November 14 order dismissing his petition
on the issue.
The petition had urged the apex court to issue a writ of
quo warranto to the chief minister who, according to the
petition, has lost majority in the 294-member Assembly in view
of the spate of resignations over Telangana issue and another
faction joining the rebel YSR Congress headed by Y Jagan Mohan
Reddy, son of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
Quo warranto is issued by a high court or the Supreme
Court questioning the authority under which a person is
holding a particular Constitutional or statutory post.
According to the petition as on October 30, resignation
of 79 MLAs from the Assembly are pending with the Speaker,
besides disqualification petitions against seven MLAs
(Congress-4, TDP-2, PRP 1).
The petition said though Kiran Kumar Reddy has lost
majority in the House, the principal opposition Telugu Desam
Party was not willing to move any no-confidence motion and TRS
on its own cannot muster the requisite number to move the
motion.
PTI
