New Delhi, Feb 6 (NationPress) The Supreme Court on Friday provided a final chance for the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to resolve the outstanding disqualification petitions concerning MLAs who transitioned from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to the ruling Congress party.

A Bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and A.G. Masih instructed the Speaker to make a decision on the pending petitions within a strict timeframe of three weeks.

“We anticipate the Speaker will take decisive action; otherwise, we will take steps to issue contempt,” ordered the Justice Karol-led Bench.

This ruling stemmed from contempt petitions related to non-adherence to the Supreme Court's order from July 31, 2025, which had given the Speaker three months to address the disqualification petitions concerning 10 BRS MLAs who allegedly defected to the Congress.

In December, influenced by the Supreme Court's stern comments, the Speaker dismissed seven of the ten petitions, leaving three unresolved. During proceedings on January 16, the Speaker requested a two-week delay, which the Supreme Court granted in hopes of progress.

On Friday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi informed the Bench led by Justice Karol that a decision was reached in one of the outstanding cases, indicating that the Speaker was close to resolving the other two.

However, this request faced opposition from counsel representing one of the petitioners, who argued that the Speaker had consistently sought delays.

Considering the update that a decision was made in one case, the apex court deemed it reasonable to allow limited additional time. The controversy derives from the defection of 10 BRS MLAs—including Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, and Tellam Venkat Rao—who joined the Congress in 2023 after it regained power in Telangana.

On July 31, the Supreme Court mandated the Speaker to resolve the disqualification petitions “as expeditively as possible and within three months,” overturning a ruling from the Telangana High Court that previously stated no time constraint could be imposed on the Speaker.

The defected MLAs include Danam Nagender (Khairatabad constituency), Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam), Kadiyam Srihari (Station Ghanpur), Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada), M. Sanjay Kumar (Jagtial), Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampally), T. Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), B. Krishna Mohan Reddy (Gadwal), G. Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), and Kale Yadaiah (Chevella) who switched allegiance to the Congress party.