HYDERABAD: Justice G Radha Rani of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday allowed the election petition filed by BRS leader Jalagam Venkata Rao, seeking the court to declare him as elected from the Kothagudem Assembly constituency, with the effective date being December 12, 2018, in place of Vanama Venkateswara Rao who had contested the election on a Congress ticket.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Venkateswara Rao for filing a false affidavit and directed him to pay costs to the petitioner Jalagam.In his petition, Jalagam sought the court to declare the election of Venkateswara Rao, who was declared elected on a Congress ticket, null and void.
In addition to challenging the election, Jalagam had sought a direction from the Election Commission of India to permit the release of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) used in the Kothagudem Assembly constituency during the 2018 elections. The purpose of their release was for future elections, including the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
The crux of the matter lay in Venkateswara Rao switching from the Congress to the TRS (now BRS) after winning the elections. This switch, combined with allegations of illegal activities during the elections, led to the court’s decision to invalidate his election.
Jalagam also urged the court to impose penalties and imprisonment on Venkateswara Rao for suppressing and concealing personal information, thus violating Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.