Supreme Court Warns Telangana Speaker Over Delay in BRS Defection Case

The Supreme Court on Monday strongly criticised the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly for delaying decisions on the disqualification petitions against ten Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs who moved to the Congress soon after the 2023 Assembly elections.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria said the Speaker’s continued inaction amounted to “gross contempt of court.” The Court reminded the Speaker that it had already set a three-month deadline on July 31 for deciding the petitions, but no progress had been made.

During the hearing, the CJI warned that the Speaker would face contempt proceedings if he failed to take a decision by next week. He added that the Speaker does not have any constitutional immunity in this situation.

“It is up to him to decide where he wants to spend his New Year,” the CJI remarked, stressing that the Court would not tolerate any further delay.

Senior Advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for the Telangana Assembly, responded that the message was “loud and clear.”

The case concerns ten BRS legislators who shifted to the Congress after the party formed the government in Telangana. Alleging unlawful defection, BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy moved the Supreme Court seeking their disqualification.

Earlier, the Telangana High Court had also dealt with the matter. A single judge had directed that the disqualification pleas be immediately placed before the Speaker and decided within a fixed timeline. The judge had also warned that the case would be reopened if no action was taken within four weeks.

However, the Division Bench later set aside this ultimatum and asked the Speaker only to decide the matter within a “reasonable time.” The Supreme Court later ruled that the Division Bench should not have interfered and reinstated the requirement for a time-bound decision.

Despite these repeated directions, the Speaker is yet to decide on the disqualification petitions, prompting the Supreme Court’s sharp warning.