Police blocked MLAs; court asks who authorised it
The Telangana High Court ordered an inquiry after BRS legislators alleged they were stopped and manhandled outside the Assembly. The Congress government’s law-and-order explanation now has to survive the court’s questions.
The High Court has sought an account of who authorised the police action outside the Assembly.
The Telangana High Court has directed the DGP not to prevent BRS legislators from entering the Assembly and ordered an inquiry into the alleged conduct of police personnel outside the House. The directions came on September 7 in a petition filed by BRS MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav.
Justice T. Madhavi Devi said that if Assembly rules were violated, the Speaker—not the police—had to act. “There is no question of allowing” legislators into the Assembly, the court reportedly said; entering was their right. The court directed the DGP to identify the personnel involved and report on disciplinary action.
The Congress government then sought modification of those directions, arguing that the MLAs had staged a protest, violated prohibitory orders and that police intervened to maintain law and order. It also said police and Chief Marshals acted on directions linked to Assembly procedure. Those are government submissions, not court findings. The court reserved orders on September 8 and asked who had authorised the police action. The state’s explanation is now under inquiry, which is a less comfortable place than a press statement.