Supreme Court upholds Danam Nagender disqualification as MLA in defection case

The Supreme Court on Thursday, September 24, dismissed former Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender’s plea challenging the Telangana High Court judgment that disqualified him from the state Legislative Assembly under the anti-defection law.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana found no ground to interfere with the High Court’s decision.

Nagender was elected from Khairatabad on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. He later joined the Congress and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad as a Congress candidate while continuing as an MLA.

The Telangana High Court had on September 18 set aside an order of Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, who had rejected petitions seeking Nagender’s disqualification, and held that he stood disqualified under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

The High Court made the disqualification effective from April 23, 2024, the date Nagender filed his nomination as a Congress candidate for the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat. It also declared the Khairatabad Assembly constituency vacant, paving the way for a by-election.

Nagender subsequently approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court judgment.

During the hearing, his counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, argued that the Tenth Schedule contains a provision under which a political party can condone the conduct of a member.

The Supreme Court pointed out that the provision cited by Rohatgi relates to voting or abstaining against a party whip under Paragraph 2(1)(b) of the Tenth Schedule, and not to voluntarily giving up membership of a political party under Paragraph 2(1)(a).

The BRS also disputed the claim that Nagender’s conduct had been condoned, pointing out that a party member had filed the disqualification petition.

The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed Nagender’s plea, upholding the High Court judgment.

The decision leaves the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant and allows the Election Commission to proceed with the process for a fresh election, subject to the applicable electoral schedule.