Telangana HC Reserves Verdict on Pleas Against Danam Nagender's Disqualification Ruling

HYDERABAD — A Division Bench of the Telangana High Court on Friday reserved its judgment on two writ petitions challenging the Legislative Assembly Speaker's ruling regarding the disqualification of Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender.

The petitions, filed by BJP Legislature Party leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy and BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, contend that Nagender incurred disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution after switching loyalties to the ruling Congress. Nagender was elected to the Khairatabad Assembly seat on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket in the 2023 elections but later contested the Lok Sabha polls as a Congress candidate. The Assembly Speaker had previously ruled that the legislator had not defected from the BRS.

Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin wrapped up proceedings concerning Nagender, clarifying that arguments regarding similar disqualification pleas against eight other BRS-turned-Congress MLAs—Kale Yadaiah, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Kadiyam Srihari, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, A. Gandhi, Tellam Venkat Rao, and Sanjay Kumar—will be heard separately due to the distinct nature of the allegations in Nagender's case.

Senior counsels K. Vivek Reddy and Gandra Mohan Rao, appearing for the petitioners, argued that an elected MLA contesting a Lok Sabha election on another party's ticket unambiguously amounts to voluntarily giving up membership under the Tenth Schedule. They asserted that the Speaker should have considered actions such as filing nominations and active campaigning on a Congress ticket, irrespective of whether a formal resignation letter was submitted. The counsels also maintained that anti-defection provisions do not depend on whether the stability of the state government is threatened, but on whether the member voluntarily severed ties with their original party.

Representing Nagender, senior counsels A. Venkatesh and Gourav Agarwal countered that the case against the MLA rested almost entirely on circumstantial media reports and photographs. They noted that allegations stemmed from a meeting on March 15, 2024, involving the Chief Minister and an AICC General Secretary where a Congress scarf was draped over the MLA, leading to claims that he formally joined the party on March 17, 2024.

Nagender's legal team argued that nowhere in news reports or photographs did he explicitly state that he had joined the Congress, emphasizing that official Legislative Assembly records continue to list him as a BRS member. Following the conclusion of detailed submissions, the High Court reserved its orders for September 16.