Supreme Court directs Madhya Pradesh Speaker to decide anti-defection plea against Congress MLA within two months

Key facts

• The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant with justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, ruled that remaining tenure of an assembly is no ground to delay anti-defection petitions, and directed the Madhya Pradesh Speaker to decide the disqualification petition against Congress MLA Nirmala Sapre within two months.
• The petition was filed by Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, alleging that Sapre, elected from Bina on a Congress ticket in the 2023 assembly elections, voluntarily gave up her party membership and aligned with the BJP; an application was pending before the Speaker since June 30, 2024.
• The court relied on its precedents Padi Kaushik Reddy vs State of Telangana (2025) and Keisham Meghachandra Singh vs Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly (2021), which set three months as the ordinary outer limit for deciding Tenth Schedule disqualification petitions.
• The Madhya Pradesh High Court had in June 2026 declined to direct the Speaker to expedite proceedings, citing the assembly's remaining two-year tenure and absence of demonstrated urgency.