Telangana HC seeks ECI affidavit on Khairatabad bypoll amid pending election petition

The Telangana High Court directed the Election Commission to file an affidavit clarifying whether a Khairatabad Assembly by-election can be held while Vijaya Reddy’s election petition challenging the 2023 result remains pending. The court adjourned the hearing to Tuesday.

Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission to file a comprehensive affidavit stating whether a by-election can be held for the Khairatabad Assembly constituency while an election petition relating to the 2023 Assembly election from the constituency is pending before the court. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Vijaya Reddy, the Congress candidate who contested from Khairatabad in the 2023 Assembly elections, seeking directions to the Election Commission not to proceed with a by-election until the pending election petition is decided.

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Senior counsel Vedula Venkataramana, appearing for Vijaya Reddy, submitted that Danam Nagender had been elected as the MLA from Khairatabad in the 2023 elections and subsequently disqualified by the High Court after facing proceedings relating to his alleged defection under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. He contended that the vacancy arising in such circumstances could not be treated as an ordinary casual vacancy, particularly when an election petition concerning the 2023 election was already pending before the High Court. He argued that proceeding with a fresh election before the pending election dispute was decided could have legal consequences.

Referring to Sections 84, 98 and 101 of the Representation of the People Act, the senior counsel urged the court to direct the Election Commission not to issue any notification for a by-election until the election petition was finally decided. He also placed reliance on judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Court in support of the petitioner’s contention. Senior Counsel appearing for the Election Commission, Avinash Desai, placed before the Bench the legal position governing the conduct of an election following the occurrence of a vacancy. He also submitted that, in view of the pending election petition, the issue required consideration before any election process was initiated. After taking note of the submissions, the Bench directed the Election Commission to file a comprehensive affidavit specifically clarifying its position on whether a by-election could be held for the Khairatabad constituency at this stage. The Bench directed that the affidavit be filed by Tuesday and adjourned the hearing to the same day.