Archive · 24 Sep 2026
Supreme Court Upholds Danam Nagender’s Telangana Disqualification
Danam Nagender was an elected member of Telangana’s Assembly.
He won the Khairatabad seat in 2018 and again in 2023 as a BRS candidate.
He later left BRS and joined Congress.
The Telangana High Court said this broke the anti-defection rules.
The Supreme Court reviewed his challenge to that decision.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court and rejected Nagender’s appeal.
This means the Khairatabad seat is now vacant.
The court suggested that Nagender could contest the new election.
The Supreme Court dismissed Danam Nagender’s appeal against his disqualification as a Telangana MLA.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant found no reason to overturn the High Court’s ruling.
The Telangana High Court held that Nagender violated the Tenth Schedule by leaving the BRS for Congress.
Nagender won Khairatabad in 2018 and 2023 as a BRS candidate before joining Congress in March 2024.
The Khairatabad Assembly seat was declared vacant, paving the way for a by-election that Nagender was suggested to contest.
- Who
- Danam Nagender, the Telangana High Court, and the Supreme Court were involved; the Supreme Court bench was led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
- What
- The Supreme Court dismissed Nagender’s appeal and upheld his disqualification as an MLA.
- When
- The Supreme Court ruling was delivered on Thursday; the articles state that Nagender joined Congress in March 2024 and was disqualified by the High Court in September 2026.
- Where
- The case concerned the Khairatabad Assembly constituency in Telangana and was decided by the Supreme Court in New Delhi.
- Why
- The Telangana High Court found that Nagender violated the Tenth Schedule’s anti-defection provisions by leaving BRS for Congress.
Nagender’s Arguments
Courts’ Position
Judicial review
Nagender’s Arguments
Nagender’s counsel questioned the extent of judicial review over the Speaker’s decision under the anti-defection law and referred to the limits described in the Kihoto Hollohan case.
Courts’ Position
The Supreme Court found that the High Court had correctly interpreted the law and that no interference was warranted.
Anti-defection violation
Nagender’s Arguments
Nagender challenged the High Court’s conclusion that his move from BRS to Congress justified disqualification under the Tenth Schedule.
Courts’ Position
The High Court held that leaving BRS for Congress violated the anti-defection provisions, and the Supreme Court upheld that ruling.
Khairatabad seat
Nagender’s Arguments
Nagender appealed in an effort to set aside the disqualification and retain his Assembly position.
Courts’ Position
The courts’ decisions left the Khairatabad seat vacant and opened the way for a fresh election.
- Former constituency
- Khairatabad Assembly constituency, Telangana
- Original party
- Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)
- New party
- Congress
- High Court ruling
- Nagender was disqualified under the Tenth Schedule’s anti-defection provisions
- Supreme Court outcome
- Appeal dismissed; the bench found no reason to interfere
- Seat status
- The Khairatabad Assembly seat was declared vacant
- Possible next step
- A fresh election can be held, and the court suggested Nagender contest it
