Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday, September 18, disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender from the Legislative Assembly with effect from April 23, 2024, setting aside the earlier decision of Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar rejecting petitions seeking his disqualification.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin held that Nagender stood disqualified under Paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The case concerned his decision to contest the 2024 Secunderabad Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket while he was an MLA elected from Khairatabad on a BRS ticket.
Nagender's Political Switch
Nagender was elected as the Khairatabad MLA on a BRS ticket in the December 2023 Telangana Assembly elections.
In 2024, he contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate without resigning from his Assembly seat. He lost the parliamentary election but subsequently remained an MLA.
BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy separately challenged the Speaker's decision before the High Court. They argued that Nagender's decision to contest the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket amounted to voluntarily giving up his membership of the BRS under the anti-defection provisions.
Speaker's Decision Challenged
The disqualification dispute has been under litigation since 2024.
The BRS had initially approached the Telangana High Court seeking action on its disqualification petitions against Nagender and other MLAs who had moved from the BRS to Congress.
The Supreme Court subsequently intervened in the wider dispute. On July 31, 2025, it set aside an earlier Telangana High Court division bench order and directed the Assembly Speaker to decide the pending disqualification petitions within three months.
Following the proceedings, the Speaker rejected the disqualification petitions concerning Nagender and other MLAs. The BRS then challenged the Speaker's decisions before the High Court.
In Nagender's case, the High Court reserved its judgment after hearing arguments from the parties. The court delivered its verdict on September 18, setting aside the Speaker's order and declaring Nagender disqualified with effect from April 23, 2024.
Other Defection Cases Pending
Nagender was among several BRS MLAs who moved towards the Congress after the 2023 Assembly elections. Disqualification proceedings involving other legislators have also been challenged in court.
The High Court's ruling in Nagender's case is therefore a significant development in the continuing legal dispute over defections in the Telangana Assembly. Separate petitions involving other MLAs remain pending.
