SC dismisses disqualified Telangana MLA Danam Nagender's plea

The Supreme Court upheld the Telangana High Court's decision to disqualify Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender. He was disqualified under the anti-defection law after he switched from the BRS to the Congress party after the 2023 Assembly polls.

Danam Nagender disqualified as MLA (File Photo/ANI)

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by disqualified Telangana MLA Danam Nagender challenging the Telangana High Court’s decision to disqualify him as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and declare his assembly seat vacant in connection with a party defection case.

High Court's Disqualification Order

The legal setback stems from the Telangana High Court Division Bench's disqualification of Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender on Friday and declaration of the Assembly seat vacant. 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 Telangana 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 then 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.

BRS Demands Action on Other Defectors

Citing the Telangana High Court's judgment on MLA Danam Nagender's disqualification, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) demanded that MLAs who switched from the BRS to the Congress should resign from their posts and seek a fresh mandate from the people, KTR said the state government should apply the same principle to all remaining cases involving MLAs who defected from the BRS. He said, "The government should take note of the High Court’s judgment on MLA disqualification and apply the same principle to the remaining defected MLAs. Every MLA who defected from the BRS to the Congress should resign and face the people’s verdict." (ANI)

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