Gaddam Prasad Kumar , Telangana Speaker
| Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
The Supreme Court on Monday (November 17, 2025) warned the Telangana Assembly Speaker is in “gross contempt” for delaying a decision on petitions filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders seeking the disqualification of 10 of their MLAs who shifted allegiance to the ruling Congress party in the State.
In July, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai had allowed the Speaker three months to complete the disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
“Either this (disqualification petitions) have to be decided by next week or face contempt. This is gross contempt. We have already said he does not enjoy constitutional immunity while acting as a tribunal under the Tenth Schedule. It is up to him to decide where he wants to spend on the New Year’s day,” Chief Justice Gavai observed.
In a previous hearing, the court clarified its power, and duty, to ensure that Speakers, acting as a quasi-judicial tribunal under the anti-defection law of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, did not sit over disqualification petitions till they “die a natural death” towards the end of the tenure of the House.
The court had expressed its resolve to not remain a silent spectator and watch from the gallery as a Speaker waited six months before the end of the tenure of a Legislative Assembly only to say “now there is no time left”.
Justice Gavai had firmly said the court would not allow the Tenth Schedule to be reduced to a mockery. It had observed that political defections, unless addressed and curbed, had the power to disrupt democracy.
The apex court is hearing petitions filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders, including KT Rama Rao and Padi Kaushik Reddy, seeking timely action by the Telangana Assembly Speaker on disqualification proceedings pending against 10 MLAs.
Published – November 17, 2025 02:48 pm IST
