Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday ordered Danam Nagender disqualification as Khairatabad MLA in a party defection case. The Chief Justice’s bench also faulted the Assembly Speaker’s decision concerning Nagender. It stayed the Speaker’s orders and held that Nagender stood disqualified as an MLA from April 2024.
Nagender won the Khairatabad Assembly constituency as a BRS candidate in the November 2023 Telangana elections. However, he did not formally resign from the BRS before contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He contested the Secunderabad parliamentary seat on a Congress B-form.
His decision to contest for Congress while continuing as a BRS MLA triggered a controversy. Critics argued that contesting for another party while remaining a BRS legislator violated constitutional provisions.
BRS MLAs subsequently approached the Assembly Speaker and sought Nagender’s disqualification under the anti-defection law. However, the Speaker dismissed their petitions after conducting an inquiry. The Speaker held that there was no evidence showing Nagender had legally changed his party.
The petitioners then challenged the Speaker’s orders before the Telangana High Court. Their lawyers argued that Nagender’s decision to contest on a Congress ticket itself established that he had given up his BRS membership.
Danam Nagender disqualification effective from April 2024
After prolonged arguments, the High Court held that the Speaker’s decision could not stand. It consequently imposed the Danam Nagender disqualification from the Assembly and stayed the Speaker’s orders.
The court also clarified the effective date of the disqualification. According to the ruling, Nagender stood disqualified as a legislator from April 2024. The judgment followed the petitions challenging the Speaker’s rejection of the disqualification complaints.