By: Express News ServiceNew Delhi | Updated: November 10, 2025 01:47 PM IST 4 min readThe SC directed Telangana Speaker not to allow the MLAs, against whom disqualification petitions have been filed, to protract the proceedings. (File Photo)The Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear a petition on November 17 seeking contempt of court proceedings against the Telangana Assembly Speaker for allegedly not acting on disqualification petitions against the BRS MLAs who defected to Congress despite the top court setting a three-month deadline in July.On July 31, a bench of CJI Gavai and Justice AG Masih BRS MLAs asked the Telangana Speaker to decide the petitions seeking disqualification of the 10 MLAs, who defected to the Congress party, expeditiously and not later than three months.The counsel appearing for the petitioner told a bench presided by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, “The Speaker has not touched the matter, has not conducted any proceedings. The MLAs are continuing. Your lordships held that if any MLA were trying to protract the proceedings, adverse inference would be drawn.”The counsel added that the other side is trying to protract the proceedings, and drag it till the end of the month for “obvious reasons”, apparently alluding to CJI Gavai’s retirement on November 23.“Supreme Court will not close after the 24th of November,” CJI Gavai responded while agreeing to hear it on November 17.In the July 31 ruling, the apex court said the very object of the anti-defection law was to curb the evil of political defections, and the only purpose of entrusting the role of adjudication to the Telangana Speaker was to avoid delay and to ensure expeditious decision on disqualification petitions. The court said that the Speaker, in his capacity as a tribunal in deciding disqualification petitions, does not enjoy any “constitutional immunity”.The SC also asked the Telangana Speaker not to allow the MLAs, against whom disqualification petitions have been filed, to protract the proceedings and said that adverse inference can be drawn against any MLA who attempts any delaying tactic.Story continues below this adThe SC ruling pointed out that the Telangana Speaker had not even issued notice on the petitions seeking disqualification for almost seven months. The court said, “If we do not issue any directions, it will amount to allowing the Speaker to repeat the widely criticised situation of operation successful, patient dead”.Noting the recurring instances of Speakers allegedly sitting on disqualification proceedings, the SC also asked Parliament to review the present mechanism contemplated under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.“Though we do not possess any advisory jurisdiction, it is for Parliament to consider whether the mechanism of entrusting the Speaker/Chairman with the important task of deciding the issue of disqualification on the ground of defection is serving the purpose of effectively combating political defections or not. If the very foundation of our democracy and the principles that sustain it are to be safeguarded, it is to be examined whether the present mechanism is sufficient or not. At the cost of repetition, we observe that it is for the Parliament to take a call on that,” the SC said in the July 31 order.The BRS had initially moved the Telangana High Court, where a single judge gave the Speaker four weeks to fix a schedule for hearing the disqualification petitions. On an appeal by the Speaker, a division bench set aside the single judge’s order and asked the Speaker to decide the petitions within a reasonable time. The SC set aside the division bench order© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:supreme courttelangana