Hyderabad, September 18: The Telangana High Court on Friday disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender from the state Legislative Assembly, setting aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar’s March 11 order that had dismissed petitions seeking his disqualification.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin held that Nagender stood disqualified with effect from April 23, 2024, under the anti-defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
Nagender was elected from Khairatabad on a BRS ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections. While continuing as an MLA, he contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket. He subsequently lost the parliamentary election.
The petitions challenging the Speaker’s decision were filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy.
In its order, the High Court said, “Respondent 2 (Nagender) stands disqualified from April 23, 2024 as a member of Telangana Legislative Assembly, having contested as a candidate set up by Congress party for Secunderabad constituency in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 despite being a member of BRS party; as a result thereof, the said seat is rendered vacant.”
The court’s decision comes amid a larger dispute over the defection of 10 BRS MLAs to the Congress in 2024. The Supreme Court had earlier directed the Speaker’s office to adjudicate the disqualification petitions within three months.
The High Court also declared the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant, paving the way for a fresh election.
Reacting to the verdict, Nagender welcomed the court’s order and said he was prepared to contest again if an election is held.
“Whenever the schedule comes for the election, I will fight and I will win. Fight is not new to me,” he told reporters.
Asked whether he would challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court, Nagender said he had not taken a decision on the matter yet.
The bench also directed that a copy of its order be communicated to the Assembly Secretary, the Speaker and the Election Commission, saying, “The copy of the order may be communicated to the Secretary, to the Assembly Speaker and also to the Election Commission.”
