The Supreme Court on Monday served a formal contempt of court notice to Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar for deliberately ignoring its July 31, 2025 order that mandated a final decision by October 30, 2025 on the disqualification petitions filed by BRS leader Padi Kaushik Reddy against ten party MLAs who switched sides to the ruling Congress immediately after the 2023 elections, thereby violating the anti-defection law.

In a packed courtroom, Chief Justice BR Gavai-headed bench granted the Speaker one last chance – a strict two-week window to conclude hearings and pronounce a reasoned order, warning that failure to comply would trigger contempt proceedings and possible imprisonment; the CJI’s sharp remark that the Speaker would then have to decide “where he wants to celebrate his New Year’s Eve” left no doubt about the seriousness of the threat.

The bench categorically reiterated that when a Speaker acts as a tribunal under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, he enjoys no special constitutional immunity from Supreme Court or High Court supervision, and any attempt to shield political defections under the guise of legislative privilege will be struck down without hesitation.

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Setting aside a controversial Telangana High Court division bench order of November 2024 that had virtually halted the proceedings, the Supreme Court restored its original timeline, directed day-to-day hearings if required, prohibited the ten Congress MLAs from adopting delaying tactics, and ruled that any deliberate procrastination must invite adverse inferences against the defectors.

Voicing broader frustration over the collapse of the anti-defection law across India because partisan Speakers routinely delay or bury such cases, the court urged Parliament to urgently reform the system, while making it clear that until that happens, it will personally ensure no Speaker can protect political horse-trading at the cost of democratic stability.

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