Hyderabad, Sept 2026 : The Telangana High Court on Friday disqualified Danam Nagender as a member of the state Legislative Assembly, setting aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar’s decision to dismiss petitions seeking his disqualification under the anti-defection law.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin pronounced the judgment on petitions filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP Legislature Party leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy challenging the Speaker’s decision. The court had reserved its order on August 21.
The High Court held that Nagender stood disqualified with effect from April 23, 2024. The ruling relates to his change of political affiliation after being elected to the Assembly on a BRS ticket in the 2023 elections and subsequently joining the Congress.
Nagender was elected from the Khairatabad Assembly constituency on a BRS ticket in 2023. He subsequently switched to the Congress in 2024 and contested the Lok Sabha election from the Secunderabad constituency as a Congress candidate while still an MLA. He was defeated in that election.
The petitioners had argued that Nagender’s actions amounted to voluntarily giving up his membership of the BRS and attracted disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The High Court accepted the challenge to the Speaker’s decision and ordered Nagender’s disqualification.
The ruling has significance for the BRS, which has been seeking the disqualification of other MLAs who switched from the party to the Congress after the 2023 Assembly elections. The Speaker had earlier rejected disqualification petitions against 10 BRS MLAs.
The Speaker dismissed petitions concerning Kadiyam Srihari and Nagender on March 11, 2026, stating that the petitioners had failed to provide sufficient evidence establishing that the two legislators had defected to the Congress. The Speaker had maintained that they were technically still members of the BRS.
In December 2025, the Speaker rejected petitions seeking the disqualification of five other MLAs — Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy and Arekapudi Gandhi.
Petitions against Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Kale Yadaiah were dismissed on January 15, 2026, while the petition seeking the disqualification of Sanjay Kumar was rejected on February 4, 2026.
BRS MLAs have challenged the Speaker’s decisions in the High Court. Separate petitions have been filed in relation to nine of the 10 MLAs against whom the party had sought disqualification.
The court’s decision in Nagender’s case therefore marks a significant development in the ongoing legal dispute over defections in the Telangana Assembly. The ruling specifically concerns Nagender and does not automatically determine the outcome of the separate petitions involving other legislators.
The case stems from the political developments following the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, when the BRS emerged from the polls with Nagender among its elected legislators. His subsequent move to the Congress and participation in the 2024 Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate became central to the disqualification proceedings.
The High Court’s ruling now places Nagender’s Assembly membership under the court-ordered disqualification with effect from April 23, 2024.
