The gloves came off last week when acting SABC CEO James Aguma dug in his heels and defied every attempt by a parliamentary ad hoc committee to get hold of the documents.
The committee is assessing the fitness of the public broadcaster's board to hold office.
It wants to see the records of board discussions, the minutes of board meetings at which the reappointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as head of corporate affairs was approved, and the paperwork related to the controversial multimillion-rand MultiChoice deal.
Vincent Smith, the ANC MP who chairs the committee, said it was ready to go to court.
"If we succeed, it means they [SABC management] will be in [contempt] of a court order. I've asked for a court order that they release those documents. So it's not only me asking for them, it's the court ordering it," he said.
Parliament's legal adviser, Ntuthuzelo Vanara, said parliament had summonsed the SABC to release the documents, but the public broadcaster was disputing the validity of the summons.
Last week Aguma asked the Cape Town High Court to compel parliament to allow him to cross-examine "hostile witnesses" lined up by the committee.
Aguma's application was dismissed, as was that of SABC board chairman Mbulaheni Maguvhe, who wanted an interdict invalidating the parliamentary inquiry.
Judge Siraj Desai ordered Maguvhe to pay costs.
The order Aguma sought would have overturned the protocol that only MPs are allowed to ask questions during parliamentary inquiries.
The "hostile witnesses" Aguma wanted to cross-examine are former SABC board members Rachel Kalidass and Krish Naidoo, and former SABC senior journalist Vuyo Mvoko.
Kalidass and Naidoo are believed to be in possession of damning evidence against the board, and Mvoko is said to be prepared to show that the SABC violated its own editorial policies under the watch of the current board and Motsoeneng.
In his court papers, Aguma dragged ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe into his fight with parliament, accusing him of making "damaging statements" about the public broadcaster.
Aguma also claimed in his papers that the ad hoc committee would be neither impartial nor independent, judging by the comments made by of some of its members.
Smith said the SABC's argument that some MPs had made "disparaging remarks" about the public broadcaster was "absolute rubbish".
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