SC upholds Danam Nagender’s disqualification as Khairatabad MLA

The High Court had on September 18 held that Nagender, elected to the Assembly on a BRS ticket, stood disqualified under the anti-defection law.

Hyderabad: Danam Nagender suffered a major setback as the Supreme Court on Thursday, September 24, upheld the Telangana High Court’s verdict disqualifying him as Khairatabad MLA under the anti-defection law, setting aside the Assembly Speaker’s decision and declaring the seat vacant.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said there was no ground to interfere with the high court’s order.

“Your case is ‘Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram, phir aaya Ram’?” Justice Bagchi remarked orally. The phrase is used to describe politicians who frequently switch sides.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for the BRS MLA.

Nagender had approached the apex court after publicly stating that he welcomed the High Court’s decision and was ready to contest elections.

High Court order

The High Court had on September 18 held that Nagender, elected to the Assembly on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket, stood disqualified under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution for contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as a Congress candidate while continuing as a sitting MLA.

The Tenth Schedule, commonly called the anti-defection law, provides that a legislator who voluntarily gives up membership of the party on whose ticket he or she was elected loses the seat in the House.

A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin declared the Khairatabad seat vacant, clearing the way for a bypoll.

The petitions before the High Court were filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy.

Background

Nagender won Khairatabad in the 2023 Assembly elections on a BRS ticket. He quit the BRS and joined the Congress in March 2024 in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

He was among the 10 MLAs who allegedly switched from the BRS to the Congress after the latter came to power in the state with a landslide win, and he lost the Secunderabad Lok Sabha contest to BJP’s G Kishan Reddy.

The Supreme Court had earlier directed the Telangana Speaker to decide the pending disqualification petitions against MLAs accused of defection, following which the Speaker ruled in Nagender’s favour and the petitioners moved the High Court.

Nagender is the first legislator to be disqualified from the Telangana Assembly since the state’s formation. BRS working president KT Rama Rao welcomed the High Court verdict and said the remaining MLAs who had crossed over would also be disqualified soon.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to announce the voting dates for the Khairatabad bypoll, necessitated by Nagender’s disqualification. Since by-elections are mandated to be held within six months of a seat being declared vacant, the official window places the election deadline around February-March 2027.