Supreme Court Issues Contempt Notice to Telangana Speaker Over Defection Pleas

The Supreme Court has issued a contempt of court notice to the Telangana Assembly Speaker for failing to decide on disqualification pleas against 10 BRS MLAs who defected to the ruling Congress. The court had set a three-month deadline which expired in October. A bench headed by CJI B.R. Gavai termed the non-compliance "the grossest kind of contempt" and gave the Speaker two weeks to act or face further proceedings, reiterating that a speaker acting as a tribunal does not enjoy constitutional immunity.