Hyderabad, March 26 (IANS) The Telangana High Court on Thursday issued notices to Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar and to two MLAs who won the election on the BRS ticket but allegedly defected to the ruling Congress.

The High Court issued the notices on the petitions filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs challenging the Speaker’s recent ruling dismissing disqualification petitions.

A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin directed the Speaker and MLAs Kadiyam Srihari and Sanjay Kumar to file counters and adjourned the hearing to April 16.

This came a day after the High Court issued notices to the Speaker and seven MLAs facing defection allegations.

The division bench had directed the Speaker, along with MLAs Danam Nagender, Arekapudi Gandhi, Kale Yadaiah, T. Prakash Goud, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy and Tellam Venkat Rao, to file counter-affidavits.

The Speaker, in four separate rulings, had dismissed petitions for the disqualification of 10 MLAs, who were elected on the BRS ticket in 2023, but allegedly switched to the ruling Congress in 2024.

The BRS approached the High Court, challenging the Speaker’s verdict. The party argued that the Speaker’s decision to dismiss the disqualification petitions, citing a lack of evidence, effectively gave them a clean chit despite their defection.

The High Court on March 23 ordered notices on the petition filed by BJP MLA A. Maheshwar Reddy, challenging the Speaker’s verdict in respect of Danam Nagender. He was one of the petitioners who had urged the Speaker to disqualify Nagender.

He argued that Nagender not only joined Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy but also contested the Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate from the Secunderabad constituency.

The bench directed that all the petitions challenging the Speaker’s ruling be tagged and adjourned the hearing to April 16.

Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, on March 11, dismissed the petitions for the disqualification of Nagender and another MLA, Kadiyam Srihari.

On February 4, the Speaker dismissed the petition for the disqualification of BRS Sanjay Kumar.

He dismissed the petitions for the disqualification of Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Kale Yadaiah on January 15.

In December 2025, the Speaker dismissed petitions for the disqualification of five MLAs — Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, and Arekapudi Gandhi.

In all the cases, the Speaker ruled that the petitioners failed to provide evidence that the MLAs defected to the Congress.

–IANS

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