Telangana HC disqualifies Danam Nagender as Khairatabad MLA

The Telangana High Court on Friday disqualified Danam Nagender as the MLA of Khairatabad assembly constituency, effective from April 23, 2024. A bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin ruled that Nagender stood disqualified for contesting the Secunderabad Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate while being a BRS MLA. The court set aside Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's earlier dismissal of disqualification petitions, saying the Speaker committed jurisdictional errors.

The court rejected a request to keep the order in abeyance pending an appeal, and directed that the order be communicated to the Assembly Secretary, the Speaker, and the Election Commission. Nagender said he welcomed the judgment and is prepared to contest again if elections are held. BRS working president KT Rama Rao welcomed the verdict, saying other defectors will face the same fate. Petitions against nine other MLAs who switched from BRS to Congress are still pending before the high court.