SC orders MP assembly speaker Tomar to hear disqualification case against MLA Nirmala Sapre

Another case of anti-defection law has come to the fore, with the Supreme Court directing Madhya Pradesh assembly speaker Narendra Singh Tomar to decide within two months on a disqualification petition against MLA Nirmala Sapre.

Sapre was elected from the Bina assembly constituency on a Congress ticket in 2023. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, however, she shared a stage with Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav and announced that she would join BJP.

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The Supreme Court directive issued on Wednesday came in a petition filed by Congress leader of opposition in assembly Umang Singhar.

Singhar had initially filed a disqualification petition against Sapre before the assembly speaker. Later, he moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court, arguing that the speaker was delaying the proceeding. The High Court dismissed his plea, saying Sapre had denied joining BJP and leaving Congress and it is for the speaker to decide on the case.

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"This is a classic case of death knell of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution," Vivek Tankha, Congress leader and lawyer who argued for the case in SC, told ET.