Supreme Court Rejects Danam Nagender’s Plea, Upholds MLA Disqualification

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Danam Nagender’s plea challenging his disqualification as the Khairatabad MLA. The decision upholds the Telangana High Court order that removed him from the state Assembly.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said there was no reason to interfere with the High Court’s decision.

The Telangana High Court had disqualified Nagender on September 18, with the order taking effect from April 23, 2024. The court had also declared the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant.

Nagender had won the Khairatabad seat on a BRS ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections. While still an MLA, he contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket. The High Court treated this as grounds for disqualification under the anti-defection law.

During the hearing, Justice Bagchi referred to the case as “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram, phir Aaya Ram”, a phrase linked to political party switching.