Hyderabad — The Telangana High Court on Friday, September 18, disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender under the anti-defection law, with retrospective effect from April 23, 2024.
A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin set aside Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's earlier order that had cleared Nagender of defection charges, and rejected a plea to keep the disqualification in abeyance pending a Supreme Court appeal.
The court ruled that Nagender voluntarily gave up his BRS membership by contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad as a Congress candidate — while continuing to serve as a BRS MLA from Khairatabad. The bench delivered a sharp rebuke of the Speaker's reasoning, calling it "perversity in the eye of law" and a "breach of constitutional obligations."
BRS working president KT Rama Rao welcomed the verdict, declaring "Satyameva Jayate" and stating that nine other MLAs who similarly defected from BRS to Congress should meet the same fate. BJP leaders called the ruling a "slap" to the Congress government.
The Khairatabad seat is now vacant, likely triggering a by-election.
