2 hrs ago
Telangana High Court Disqualifies BRS MLA Danam Nagender
Danam Nagender was elected as a member of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, or BRS, in 2023.
He later joined Congress and ran for Parliament in 2024.
He ran for the Secunderabad seat while still holding his Assembly position.
Some lawmakers argued that this meant he had given up his BRS membership.
The Telangana High Court agreed with that argument.
It overturned the Assembly Speaker’s earlier decision not to disqualify him.
Nagender’s disqualification begins on April 23, 2024.
The Khairatabad seat is now empty and may have a new election.
The Telangana High Court disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender from the State Legislative Assembly.
The court ruled that Nagender incurred disqualification after contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate while remaining a BRS MLA.
The Division Bench set aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar’s decision rejecting disqualification petitions against Nagender.
The disqualification takes effect from April 23, 2024, the date Nagender contested the Secunderabad seat.
The Khairatabad Assembly seat has been declared vacant, allowing a fresh election to be held.
- Who
- Danam Nagender, Khairatabad MLA; petitioners Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and Padi Kaushik Reddy; and the Telangana High Court.
- What
- The High Court disqualified Nagender from the Telangana Legislative Assembly and declared the Khairatabad seat vacant.
- Where
- The case concerns the Khairatabad Assembly constituency and the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana.
- When
- The order was delivered on Friday and applies from April 23, 2024.
- Why
- The court held that Nagender incurred disqualification by contesting the Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate while continuing as a BRS MLA.
Disqualification Petitioners
Nagender and Assembly Speaker
Whether Nagender defected
Disqualification Petitioners
Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and Padi Kaushik Reddy argued that Nagender voluntarily gave up his BRS membership by joining Congress and contesting the Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate.
Nagender and Assembly Speaker
Nagender’s counsel sought to keep the disqualification order in abeyance so it could be challenged in an appeal; the Speaker had earlier rejected the disqualification petitions.
Validity of the Speaker’s decision
Disqualification Petitioners
The petitioners challenged the Speaker’s rejection of their pleas before the High Court.
Nagender and Assembly Speaker
The Speaker’s decision had found against disqualification, but the High Court set it aside.
Key facts
- Disqualified MLA
- Danam Nagender
- Assembly constituency
- Khairatabad
- Effective date
- April 23, 2024
- Lok Sabha constituency
- Secunderabad
- Relevant law
- The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly associated with the anti-defection law
- Earlier decision
- Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar had rejected petitions seeking Nagender’s disqualification
- Next electoral consequence
- The Khairatabad Assembly seat has fallen vacant, paving the way for a fresh election
Sources
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