Supreme Court issues final warning to Telangana Speaker on pending disqualification cases

The Supreme Court has issued a final warning to the Telangana Assembly Speaker, directing him to decide pending disqualification petitions against three BRS MLAs within two weeks, expressing concern over repeated delays despite earlier court orders.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Telangana Assembly Speaker to apprise it within two weeks on the status of adjudication of disqualification pleas against BRS MLAs, who had defected to the ruling Congress.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and AG Masih gave two weeks time to the Speaker to file a status report indicating the steps taken for the adjudication of the disqualification pleas. The Speaker had sought eight weeks time for the conclusion of the proceedings.

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Senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Speaker, submitted that in seven cases, orders had been pronounced, while in one case, the order had been reserved.

“The Speaker could not decide all the disqualification pleas as he had to undergo eye surgery,” Singhvi added and sought eight weeks time for completion of the proceedings.

Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs, said the Speaker cannot be given time repeatedly as he has not complied with the directions of the court.

“The Speaker was granted three months to decide the disqualification pleas but that period is long over,” Naidu told the bench and opposed the grant of two more weeks time.

The bench said it was giving a last opportunity, after which consequences would follow, and directed that a status report be filed before the next date of hearing.

On November 17, 2025, the top court issued a contempt notice to the Telangana Speaker for not complying with its direction to decide disqualification pleas against 10 BRS MLAs, who had defected to the ruling Congress.

On July 31 last year, the top court had directed the Speaker to decide within three months the matter of the disqualification of the 10 BRS MLAs. It had termed the non-compliance of its earlier directions as the “grossest kind of contempt” while issuing notices to the Speaker and others on the pleas filed by the BRS leaders. The apex court had also issued notice on a separate plea filed on behalf of the office of the Speaker seeking an extension of eight more weeks to decide the disqualification pleas.

The contempt plea stems from the apex court’s July 31 last year judgment in a batch of writ petitions filed by BRS leaders KT Rama Rao, Padi Kaushik Reddy and KP Vivekanand.

The top court reiterated that the Speaker acts as a tribunal while deciding disqualification pleas under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and, therefore, does not enjoy “constitutional immunity”.

The Tenth Schedule deals with provisions on disqualification on the grounds of defection.