Supreme Court Issues Final Warning to Telangana Speaker Over BRS MLA Defection Case
NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court of India has intensified its scrutiny of the Telangana MLA disqualification case, issuing a firm directive to the State Assembly Speaker, Gaddam Prasad Kumar. During a high-stakes hearing on Friday, January 16, 2026, the apex court granted the Speaker a “final window” of two weeks to provide a status report on the pending disqualification petitions against three remaining BRS legislators.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and AG Masih made it clear that the judiciary would no longer tolerate “unreasonable delays” in deciding matters related to the Anti-Defection Law under the Tenth Schedule.
Two-Week Deadline for Status Report
The Supreme Court’s intervention comes after the Speaker’s counsel requested an additional four weeks to conclude the proceedings. The bench rejected this request, instead ordering the Speaker to file an affidavit within 14 days detailing the progress made.
“Sufficient time has already been provided. Further delay could invite serious consequences,” the bench noted, signaling that the court might take matters into its own hands if the Speaker fails to act.
The State of Play: 7 Cleared, 3 Remaining
In a move seen as a preemptive strike ahead of today’s hearing, Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar dismissed disqualification petitions against two more BRS MLAs—Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada) and Kale Yadaiah (Chevella)—on Thursday evening.
The Speaker ruled that there was “no conclusive evidence” that the duo had formally defected to the ruling Congress party, despite their public support for Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.7 With this, the status of the 10 BRS MLAs who allegedly switched sides is as follows:
| Status | MLAs Involved |
| Petitions Dismissed (Cleared) | Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Kale Yadaiah, Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, Arekapudi Gandhi |
| Pending Decision | Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, M. Sanjay Kumar |
BRS Cries Foul Over “Mockery of Democracy”
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), led by Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), has hit out at the Speaker’s recent rulings. KTR accused the Congress-led government of “shielding defectors” to avoid by-elections following the party’s recent setbacks in the Panchayat polls.
The BRS maintains that the MLAs openly participated in Congress party programs, which should trigger automatic disqualification. The Supreme Court, however, clarified today that it would not examine the merits of the Speaker’s decisions (the “clean chits”) at this stage; those must be challenged through separate legal proceedings.
Why This Matters for Telangana Politics
The next two weeks are critical for the political stability of Telangana. If the remaining three MLAs—particularly Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari—are disqualified, it could trigger significant by-elections that would serve as a referendum on the Congress government’s performance.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for early February 2026, where the Speaker’s affidavit will be reviewed.
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