Hyderabad, March 26 (NationPress) The Telangana High Court has issued notices to Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar alongside two MLAs, who were elected on the BRS ticket but are accused of defecting to the ruling Congress. The court action follows petitions from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs contesting the Speaker's recent decision to dismiss disqualification petitions.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin instructed both the Speaker and MLAs Kadiyam Srihari and Sanjay Kumar to submit their responses, with the hearing postponed to April 16.

This ruling follows a prior issuance of notices to the Speaker and seven other MLAs facing similar defection claims.

The division bench had previously directed the Speaker, along with MLAs Danam Nagender, Arekapudi Gandhi, Kale Yadaiah, T. Prakash Goud, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, and Tellam Venkat Rao, to provide counter-affidavits.

In separate rulings, the Speaker dismissed disqualification petitions against ten MLAs elected on the BRS ticket in 2023, who allegedly transitioned to the ruling Congress in 2024.

The BRS challenged the Speaker’s decision, asserting that the ruling effectively absolved the MLAs of any consequences for their defection due to insufficient evidence.

On March 23, the High Court also mandated notices based on a petition by BJP MLA A. Maheshwar Reddy, who contested the Speaker’s ruling regarding Danam Nagender, one of the petitioners advocating for Nagender's disqualification.

Reddy claimed that Nagender joined Congress under the presence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and subsequently ran for the Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate in the Secunderabad constituency.

The bench directed that all petitions disputing the Speaker's ruling be consolidated and postponed the hearing until April 16.

On March 11, Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar rejected the disqualification petitions concerning Nagender and MLA Kadiyam Srihari. Earlier, on February 4, he dismissed the disqualification petition for BRS's Sanjay Kumar, and on January 15, he ruled against disqualifying Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Kale Yadaiah.

In December 2025, petitions for the disqualification of five MLAs—Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, and Arekapudi Gandhi—were also dismissed by the Speaker. In all instances, the Speaker concluded that the petitioners did not furnish adequate evidence to support the claims of defection to the Congress.