Institute of Legal and Management Studies

A contempt petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly alleging that he has not decided the disqualification petitions against the BRS MLAs who defected to Congress within the three month timelimit set by the judgment delivered by the Court on July 31.

Chief Justice of India BR Gavai agreed to list the matter next Monday after a counsel mentioned the matter on Monday for urgent listing.

"The Speaker has not touched the matter, has not conducted any proceedings. The MLAs are still continuing. Your lordships held if any MLA was trying to protract the proceedings, adverse inference would be drawn. Two petitions there. Speaker has not touched them. Others are in evidence stage," the counsel submitted, seeking listing tomorrow.

When the CJI agreed to list it next week, the counsel said that the respondents are dragging the proceedings till the end of the month for "obvious reasons", implicitly referring to CJI Gavai's retirement on November 23.

"Supreme Court will not close after the 24th of November," CJI said.

A bench comprising CJI Gavai and Justice AG Masih delivered the judgment in a batch of writ petitions filed by BRS leaders KT Rama Rao, Padi Kaushik Reddy and KO Vivekanand in relation to the defection of ten BRS MLAs in Telangana to the Congress party. The Court directed the Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to decide the petitions seeking their disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution within a period of three months from July 31.