HYDERABAD: Justice G Radha Rani of the Telangana High Court on Thursday dismissed the interim application filed by Vanama Venkateswara Rao seeking suspension of the court order disqualifying him as Kothagudem MLA.
The election petition, filed by Jalagam Venkat Rao, who lost the election to Venkateswara Rao in the 2018 Assembly election, had raised serious allegations against the latter, claiming that he had suppressed and concealed certain information in Form 26, as per Rule 4-A of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 and rules under the Representation of People Act 1951.
In its judgment delivered on July 25, the court declared the election of Vanama Venkateswara Rao as void and invalid and declared Jalagam Venkata Rao as the elected candidate from the Kothagudem constituency. Furthermore, the court imposed a fine of Rs 5 lahks on Venkateswara Rao for submitting a false affidavit before the Election Commission of India during the 2018 elections. The MLA was found guilty of concealing information about his and his wife’s assets, which is a serious offence under electoral laws.
In response to the court’s judgment, Venkateswara Rao’s counsel filed the interim application stating that they have not yet received the certified copy of the judgment which disqualified him. Without the certified copy, they were unable to approach the Supreme Court with an appeal against the High Court’s order. The counsel also argued that the next elections are scheduled for December 2023, and Vanama intends to contest these elections as well.
However, Justice Radha Rani rejected Vanama’s counsel’s contentions and dismissed the interim application. The court’s decision means that the earlier judgment stands, declaring Venkata Rao as the elected candidate and invalidating Venkateswara Rao’s election.