ECI tells HC no Khairatabad bypoll until election petition ends

Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Telangana High Court that it will not notify a by-election to the Khairatabad Assembly constituency until the court finally decides an election petition against former MLA Danam Nagender.

The submission was made on Thursday, October 1, before a division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy. ECI standing counsel Avinash Desai said the vacancy would be notified only after the petition is disposed of.

The ECI’s stand came during the hearing of a writ petition filed by Congress leader P. Vijaya Reddy, who contested Khairatabad in the 2023 Assembly elections. She wants the court to direct the poll panel not to issue a by-election notification until her 2024 election petition is decided.

Vijaya Reddy’s election petition challenges Nagender’s 2023 victory. She alleges he suppressed material information about the assets of his wife and dependants in his election affidavit.

Her counsel argued that the vacancy cannot be treated as an ordinary casual vacancy when an election petition on the same election is still pending before the High Court. He relied on Supreme Court and High Court judgments to back the contention.

The seat fell vacant after Nagender was disqualified following a High Court judgment that set aside the Assembly Speaker’s decision on the matter. The Assembly Secretariat then notified the seat as vacant. The Supreme Court later dismissed Nagender’s appeal against the disqualification.

With the ECI now on record, the Khairatabad by-election is unlikely to be held until the High Court rules on the election petition.