Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 18 (ANI): The Telangana High Court on Friday disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender under the anti-defection law, setting aside the decision of the Assembly Speaker and declaring the Assembly seat vacant, in a significant development in the ongoing political and legal battle over defections in the State.
Reacting to the verdict, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said the judgment would have wider implications for legislators who had crossed over from the BRS to the Congress. He said the verdict should serve as a warning to other MLAs facing similar disqualification proceedings.
Nagender was elected from Khairatabad on a BRS ticket in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. He subsequently joined the Congress and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket. Though he lost the parliamentary election, he continued as the Khairatabad MLA.
Petitions were filed seeking his disqualification on the ground that his decision to join the Congress amounted to voluntarily giving up membership of the BRS and attracted the provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly known as the anti-defection law.
The Assembly Speaker had earlier rejected the petitions seeking Nagender’s disqualification. The decision was challenged before the High Court, leading to a prolonged legal battle over the issue.
A Division Bench of the Telangana High Court has now set aside the Speaker’s decision and disqualified Nagender as an MLA. The court held that the Khairatabad Assembly constituency had fallen vacant and that a fresh election would have to be conducted. The court has also specified April 23, 2024 as the effective date of Nagender’s disqualification.
The verdict comes against the backdrop of a larger controversy involving BRS MLAs who subsequently joined the ruling Congress. The BRS has been demanding their disqualification, maintaining that legislators elected on its ticket cannot switch parties and continue to hold their Assembly seats.
The Congress and the legislators concerned have contested the claims in the respective legal and political proceedings. The cases involving other legislators are at different stages and will have to be decided separately on the basis of their individual facts and legal records.
Several MLAs who won the 2023 Assembly election on BRS tickets and later moved to the Congress have been facing political and legal scrutiny. They include Kadiyam Srihari, Tellam Venkat Rao, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Kale Yadaiah, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T Prakash Goud, Arekapudi Gandhi and Sanjay Kumar.
The anti-defection dispute has also raised broader questions over the role of the Assembly Speaker in deciding disqualification petitions and the time taken to adjudicate such cases. The Supreme Court had earlier intervened in proceedings concerning disqualification petitions involving Telangana MLAs and directed that the matters be dealt with within a specified timeframe.
The High Court’s latest ruling is expected to give fresh political momentum to the BRS campaign against defections and could intensify scrutiny of the other pending cases. However, the verdict in Nagender’s case does not automatically determine the fate of the other legislators, whose cases will depend on their respective proceedings.
For Khairatabad, the immediate consequence of the judgment is that the Assembly constituency has been rendered vacant and a fresh election will have to be held in accordance with the court’s order. (ANI)
"Same fate awaits other defectors": KTR after Telangana HC disqualifies Danam Nagender as MLA
