New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday instructed the Telangana assembly speaker to resolve disqualification petitions against 10 BRS MLAs, who shifted loyalty to the ruling Congress, within three months. A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai emphasized that political defections have long been a critical national issue, capable of undermining democratic processes if unchecked. The court was responding to an appeal by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Padi Kaushik Reddy, urging the speaker to expedite the disqualification rulings against the BRS legislators.
The Supreme Court overturned a decision by the Telangana High Court’s division bench from November 22, 2024, which had overturned an earlier order from a single judge. In delivering the judgment, the CJI noted the historical context, referencing parliamentary speeches by figures like Rajesh Pilot and Devendra Nath Munshi, noting that the aim of assigning disqualification matters to the speaker was to mitigate delays typically encountered in court procedures.
Furthermore, the judgment instructed the speaker to ensure that MLAs do not unnecessarily delay the disqualification processes. If any MLA attempted to prolong the proceedings, the speaker was advised to make adverse inferences accordingly. The Supreme Court clarified that when handling defection pleas, the assembly speaker functions as a tribunal and therefore does not possess constitutional immunity.
The full judgment is yet to be made public. The Supreme Court had initially reserved its verdict on April 3.
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