Supreme Court gives Telangana Speaker three weeks to decide on MLA disqualification

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Friday gave Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar a final opportunity to decide on disqualification petitions against defected MLAs. The court granted him a three-week deadline to take a decision.

The court heard petitions filed by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi seeking disqualification of MLAs who defected. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih conducted the hearing. The bench observed that it had already given the Speaker enough time earlier. It directed him to complete the proceedings and submit a report to the court.

During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Telangana government, briefed the court on recent developments. He said the Speaker had already started hearings on the petitions. According to him, the hearing in one MLA’s case had concluded. He added that hearings against two other MLAs were under way.

Court warns Speaker of contempt if deadline missed

Citing the ongoing municipal elections, Singhvi requested more time to finish the process. The bench considered the request and granted three more weeks. However, it warned that failure to announce a decision within the deadline could amount to contempt of court.

The Supreme Court then adjourned the matter for three weeks. It made clear that the Speaker must strictly follow the timeline.