The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly to decide within two months a pending disqualification petition against Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre under the anti-defection law.

The petition, filed in July 2024 by Congress Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, alleges that Sapre voluntarily gave up her membership of the Indian National Congress, the party on whose ticket she was elected in the 2023 Assembly polls, and joined the BJP.

Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for the petitioner, described it as a “classic case” under the Tenth Schedule, stating that Sapre had left the party and was campaigning with the opposite side, yet the Speaker had not commenced proceedings.

The bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana hearing the matter noted the allegations of voluntary relinquishment of party membership triggering disqualification under the Tenth Schedule. It observed that the petition had remained undecided for over two years. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier dismissed Singhar's plea seeking a time-bound decision, holding that there was no urgency as proceedings were underway and Sapre had denied resigning from Congress or joining the BJP.

The Supreme Court disagreed with the High Court's approach on urgency. It held that even where a court finds no immediate urgency, or where considerable time remains until the Assembly's term expires, petitions under the Tenth Schedule must still be decided expeditiously. The Court therefore directed the Speaker to decide the disqualification petition within two months.

The Court also cited its precedent in Padi Kaushik Reddy which set a deadline to the Telangana Speaker to decide disqualification petitions.

Sapre, a first-time MLA from Bina in Sagar district, had won the seat on a Congress ticket in 2023. In May 2024, during the Lok Sabha election campaign, she appeared on a BJP platform in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and announced her decision to join the ruling party. She has maintained that she neither resigned from the Congress nor formally joined the BJP, and continues to claim membership of the Congress.