High Court declares Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender disqualified

The Telangana High Court on Friday set aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's March 11 order dismissing petitions seeking Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender's disqualification. The bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin declared Nagender stands disqualified as a member of the Legislative Assembly from April 23, 2024. Elected as MLA on a BRS ticket in 2023, he contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat as a Congress candidate in 2024. BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy had filed the petitions.

Written by AI from The Hindu — Telangana · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 18 Sept 2026, 4:38 pm IST

Source

The Hindu — Telangana · read the original report ↗

#telangana high court#danam nagender#disqualification#brs#anti-defection

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

Telangana High Court on September 18, 2026 set aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's March 11 order dismissing disqualification petitions against Danam Nagender. — Attributed to the High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh; dates appear in source.
Nagender stands disqualified as MLA from April 23, 2024. — Quoted directly from the bench's declaration in the source.
Petitions were filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy (Huzurabad) and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy (Nirmal); orders reserved on August 21. — Named attribution present in source; no external verification possible.
Nine other BRS MLAs switched to Congress during March-August 2024, with names listed. — Figure and names appear in source without further sourcing detail.
Supreme Court on July 31, 2025 directed the Speaker's office to decide the petitions within three months. — Procedural chronology stated in source; attributed to apex court order.

Written by AI from The Hindu — Telangana · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

The disqualification of Danam Nagender is not just about one seat — it tests how far judicial review can reach into a Speaker's discretion on defection cases. For the BRS it is both a legal and a moral win; for the Congress it is an uncomfortable signal, with pleas against eight more MLAs still being heard. The fact that the BJP filed separately makes anti-defection a shared opposition weapon rather than a BRS-only cause.

By declaring the disqualification effective from April 23, 2024, the court has made clear it did not accept the Speaker's March 11 order.
The ruling could shape the pending cases against the eight other MLAs, which would in turn reopen political debate over Congress's numbers and seats like Khairatabad.
Because the Speaker's office dismissed the petitions only after the Supreme Court set a three-month deadline, the process itself now becomes the political talking point.
The BRS, which has been in court since April 2024, gets a chance to recover through the judiciary the momentum it lost on the public stage.
The party's decision not to move against Patancheru MLA Mahipal Reddy leaves a political question mark that rivals can exploit; the story does not explain the reason.

What to watch — Watch the bench's verdict on the remaining eight MLAs, whether Nagender pursues a higher appeal, and how the Speaker's office responds.

The story does not establish the outcome of the eight pending cases, the scope for appeal, or what happens next to the Khairatabad seat.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 10 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Danam Nagender was elected MLA from Khairatabad in December 2023 on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket, but contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat in May 2024 as a Congress candidate without resigning from BRS. Petitions seeking his disqualification under the anti-defection law were dismissed by Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on March 11. On September 18, 2026, a Telangana High Court bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin set aside the Speaker's order and declared Nagender disqualified as an MLA with effect from April 23, 2024. He was one of ten BRS MLAs who switched to the Congress between March and August 2024.

Key facts

Telangana High Court on September 18, 2026 set aside Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar's order dismissing petitions seeking Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender's disqualification.
The bench declared Nagender 'stands disqualified from April 23, 2024' as a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
Nagender was elected Khairatabad MLA on a BRS ticket in December 2023 and contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket in May 2024.
The two writ petitions were filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy (Huzurabad) and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy (Nirmal); orders were reserved on August 21.
Petitioners invoked paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, arguing he did not resign from BRS before contesting on a Congress ticket.
Besides Nagender, nine other BRS MLAs switched to the Congress during March-August 2024, including Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Arekapudi Gandhi.
On July 31, 2025, the Supreme Court set aside a High Court division bench order and directed the Speaker's office to adjudicate the disqualification petitions within three months.
BRS filed writ petitions against nine of the 10 MLAs after the Speaker dismissed all petitions; it did not file a plea against Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy.

Timeline

December 2023Danam Nagender elected MLA from Khairatabad on a BRS ticket.
April 23, 2024Date from which the High Court later held Nagender to stand disqualified as an MLA.
April 2024BRS moved the High Court alleging the Speaker's office was not acting on petitions to disqualify Nagender and two other MLAs who joined Congress.
May 2024Nagender contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat as a Congress candidate.
March-August 2024Nine other BRS MLAs switched loyalty to the Congress.
September 9, 2024A single judge of the High Court directed the Speaker's office to fix a schedule to hear the disqualification petitions.
November 27, 2024A High Court division bench set aside the single-judge order; BRS then moved the Supreme Court.
July 31, 2025Supreme Court set aside the division bench order and directed the Speaker to decide the petitions within three months.
March 11Speaker's office dismissed all disqualification petitions relating to the 10 MLAs.
August 21High Court bench reserved orders in Nagender's case and continued hearing pleas against the remaining eight MLAs.

Who has a stake

Danam Nagender — Khairatabad MLA declared disqualified from April 23, 2024 for contesting the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket after winning on a BRS ticket.
Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar — His March 11 order dismissing the disqualification petitions has been set aside by the High Court.
BRS — Lost 10 MLAs to the Congress in 2024; has pursued disqualification petitions through the High Court and Supreme Court against nine of them.
Padi Kaushik Reddy (BRS, Huzurabad) and Alleti Maheshwar Reddy (BJP, Nirmal) — Petitioners who sought quashing of the Speaker's order; their pleas succeeded in Nagender's case.
Congress in Telangana — Faces the consequences of a court-ordered disqualification of a defector, with pleas against eight more MLAs still being heard.
Telangana High Court and Supreme Court — Judicial oversight of the Speaker's exercise of powers under the Tenth Schedule and the timelines for deciding defection petitions.

Why it matters

The verdict tests whether Speakers can indefinitely shield defectors, since the courts had already directed a time-bound decision and have now overturned the Speaker's dismissal of the petitions. With pleas against eight more BRS MLAs still pending before the same bench, the outcome could reshape the Telangana Assembly's arithmetic. It also strengthens judicial review of anti-defection decisions under the Tenth Schedule.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule: disqualification for voluntarily giving up membership of the party on whose ticket a member was elected.
Telangana High Court bench: Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin; verdict on September 18, 2026.
Nagender declared disqualified as MLA with effect from April 23, 2024; Speaker's dismissal order dated March 11 set aside.
Supreme Court on July 31, 2025 directed the Telangana Speaker to decide disqualification petitions within three months.
Ten BRS MLAs switched to the Congress during March-August 2024; BRS filed pleas against nine, excluding Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy.
Petitioners: BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy (Huzurabad) and BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy (Nirmal).

Mains framing

The Telangana defection case illustrates the structural weakness of India's anti-defection framework: the Tenth Schedule vests adjudication in the Speaker, who is drawn from the ruling side, creating incentives for delay. Here, ten BRS MLAs shifted to the Congress in 2024, and Danam Nagender even contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket without resigning from the party on whose ticket he had won the Khairatabad Assembly seat in December 2023. Litigation moved through a single judge (September 9, 2024), a division bench (November 27, 2024) and the Supreme Court, which on July 31, 2025 imposed a three-month deadline on the Speaker; the Speaker then dismissed all petitions on March 11, prompting fresh writ petitions. The High Court's September 18, 2026 ruling, declaring Nagender disqualified from April 23, 2024, shows judicial review as the corrective of last resort, but also that relief arrives years after the defection, by which time the political benefit has accrued. The way forward suggested by this sequence lies in credible time limits and independent adjudication of defection petitions, so that the mandate of voters is not defeated by procedural delay; specific reform proposals are not stated in the source.

Key terms

Tenth Schedule: Constitutional schedule containing the anti-defection provisions; paragraph 2(1)(a) covers voluntarily giving up party membership.
Disqualification petition: A plea before the Speaker seeking to unseat a legislator for defection under the Tenth Schedule.
BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi): Party on whose ticket Nagender won Khairatabad in December 2023; it pursued disqualification of defecting MLAs.
Writ petition: Petition to a High Court or Supreme Court seeking to quash or set aside an authority's order, used here against the Speaker's order.
Division bench: A two-judge bench of a High Court; one such bench in November 2024 set aside the single judge's direction to the Speaker.
Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar: Telangana Assembly Speaker whose March 11 order dismissing the disqualification petitions was set aside.

Practice questions

Critically examine the role of the Speaker as the adjudicating authority under the Tenth Schedule, using the Telangana disqualification case as an illustration.
To what extent does judicial intervention, including time-bound directions by the Supreme Court, remedy delays in deciding anti-defection petitions?
Discuss how large-scale defections of legislators affect the representative mandate and the stability of party systems in Indian states.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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