SC to hear Telangana MLA’s plea against disqualification on Sept 23
The high court had held that Nagender’s Khairatabad seat became vacant from April 23, 2024, after he contested the Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket.
The Supreme Court will deliberate on September 23 on a petition filed by Telangana MLA Danam Nagender, who is contesting his disqualification from the state legislature. This decision comes after a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant permitted an urgent listing, following a referral by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who was representing Nagender.
On September 18, the high court had disqualified Nagender from continuing as an MLA, effective from April 2024, coinciding with his contest for the Lok Sabha polls from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had moved a disqualification plea against Nagender, which was initially dismissed by the Telangana Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar.
However, BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA A Maheshwar Reddy challenged the Speaker's order, leading to their petitions being heard by the high court. Senior advocate P Mohith Rao indicated that a caveat was filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of Kaushik Reddy, while Maheshwar Reddy stated he, too, had moved the Supreme Court with a caveat.
The disqualification of Nagender has sparked a debate in the state, with the BJP and BRS accusing Congress of welcoming turncoat politicians. Nagender, who won the 2023 assembly election from the Khairatabad constituency on a BRS ticket, was part of a group of 10 BRS legislators who defected to the Congress. His disqualification has left a vacant seat in Khairatabad, with one of the remaining eight MLAs having since joined the BRS.
The high court had dismissed Nagender's request to defer the disqualification order temporarily, leading him to approach the Supreme Court. This case highlights the delay in the Speaker's decision on disqualification pleas, which was previously addressed by the Supreme Court in July 2025, setting a three-month deadline for such decisions.
Failure to comply with this order led to the filing of contempt petitions by the BRS legislators, resulting in the Speaker passing orders in favor of Nagender in March 2025.
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