Telangana High Court Disqualifies MLA Danam Nagender in Defection Case

The Telangana High Court on Friday disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender from the Legislative Assembly, declaring his seat vacant and overturning an earlier decision by the Assembly Speaker. The court's order, effective from April 23, 2024, found Nagender disqualified under the anti-defection law for contesting the 2024 Secunderabad Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket while still holding his seat as a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) member. A division bench led by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin delivered the verdict, setting aside the Speaker's March 11 order that had dismissed disqualification petitions against Nagender. The petitions were filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy. The court directed its order be communicated to the Assembly Speaker and the Election Commission. Nagender was elected from Khairatabad on a BRS ticket in the December 2023 Assembly elections. He switched to the Congress party in 2024 and contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on its ticket without resigning from his Assembly membership.