'Telangana Speaker In Gross Contempt Of Court' : Supreme Court Gives Ultimatum To Decide Disqualification Pleas

The Supreme Court on Monday (November 17) issued notice returnable in four weeks to the Speaker of Telangana in a contempt petition filed over his failure to decide the disqualification petitions against 10 MLAs of BRS who defected to the Congress within the time limit set by the Court.

While considering the contempt petitions, the bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai expressed displeasure with the Speaker's conduct.

"It is for him (speaker) whether he wants to decide the matter or face contempt by the court....this is gross contempt of the court," CJI Gavai said, noting that the Speaker was supposed to decide by October 31.

"Finish it by next week or face the contempt. It is for him to decide. We have already held that he doesn't enjoy constitutional immunity when considering the matters under the tenth schedule. He has to decide where he has to spend his New Year's Eve," CJI Gavai told Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing the Speaker. Singhvi assured that the Speaker will decide within two weeks.

The bench of CJI BR Gavai, Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria was hearing the issue. 

On July 31, the bench of CJI BR Gavai and AG Masih had directed the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to decide the petitions seeking their disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution within a period of three months from the date of the order. 

Allowing the petitions filed by BRS leaders KT Rama Rao, Padi Kaushik Reddy and KO Vivekanand, the Court set aside the judgment of the division bench of the Telangana High Court, which nullified the single bench direction to the Speaker to fix the schedule of hearing within four weeks.

The issue relates to the defection of ten BRS MLAs who switched over to Congress after the 2023 assembly elections in Telangana. BRS MLAs Kuna Pandu Vivekananda and Padi Kaushik Reddy, and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, moved the Telangana High Court seeking to direct the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions within a time-bound manner. While the single bench directed the Speaker to fix the hearing schedule within four weeks, it was set aside by the division bench.

Challenging the order of the Division bench (which set aside the direction to the Speaker to fix a schedule for hearing of the disqualification pleas within 4 weeks), MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, and others, moved the Supreme Court.

Case Title: PADI KAUSHIK REDDY Versus THE STATE OF TELANGANA AND ORS., SLP(C) No. 2353-2354/2025 (and connected cases)

Click here to read the order