
Telangana HC shocks ex-MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh
In a landmark judgment, the Telangana High Court has ruled thatBharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Vemulawada MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh is a German citizen, disqualifying him from holding elected office in India. The court found that Ramesh misrepresented his citizenship status by submitting false documents while contesting elections.
The court dismissed Ramesh’s petition and imposed a Rs.30 lakh fine, directing him to pay Rs.25 lakh to Congress leader Adi Srinivas, who filed the original petition challenging Ramesh’s election. An additional Rs.5 lakh was ordered to be paid to the Legal Services Authority. The court set a one-month deadline for the payment.
Background of the case
The legal battle dates back to the 2014 Telangana Assembly elections, where Chennamaneni Ramesh, contesting on a BRS ticket, defeated Adi Srinivas by a narrow margin of 5,000 votes from the Vemulawada constituency.
Srinivas claimed that Ramesh held German citizenship at the time of the election, making him ineligible to contest under Indian law. He alleged that Ramesh deliberately filed fabricated affidavits to conceal his foreign citizenship status.
Despite the pending case, Ramesh contested and won the 2018 Assembly elections from the same constituency, extending the legal battle.
Court’s findings
The High Court ruled that Ramesh misled judicial authorities for over 15 years by submitting forged documents and false affidavits about renouncing his German citizenship. It concluded that he was still a German citizen when he contested elections in India.
The court declared his election invalid and barred him from holding any elected office in the country.
Significance of the verdict
The ruling underscores the legal requirement for political candidates in India to fully disclose their citizenship status and personal details in election affidavits. It also reaffirms the judiciary’s role in ensuring fair electoral processes and upholding constitutional norms.
With this decision, a long-standing legal dispute has come to a close, potentially impacting future electoral guidelines and raising concerns over compliance with citizenship regulations in Indian elections.
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Logic demand he should never be given an OCI card. All his assets, and bank account be frozen since they are acquired illegally. Besides all benefits enjoyed over years as Indian citizen must be recovered. WILL THIS APPLY TO RAGA on the 19th DEC.
What about the allowances & benefits he got as MLA ? Is he not obliged to pay for all such freebies & monies recieved by him…? Did he give bribe money to judge to keep on that ?
15 years to arrive at judgement !!! Sick system. when it is general public knowledge, court did not know it ?
What about the allowances & benefits he got as MLA ? Is he not obliged to pay for all such freebies & monies recieved by him…? Did he give bribe money to judge to keep on that ?
15 years to arrive at judgement !!! Sick system.