New Delhi: The Supreme Court has put a halt to the Telangana High Court's ruling that declared the election of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy from Gadwal constituency as void.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta issued a notice to BJP leader DK Aruna, who was declared the elected representative by the high court following the annulment of Reddy's election. The notice requires her response within four weeks.
In addition to annulling Reddy's election, the high court imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh on him for submitting a false affidavit regarding his assets with his nomination form. The court declared Aruna as elected with retrospective effect from December 2018 and directed Reddy to pay Rs 50,000 towards litigation costs.
Aruna, who initially contested the 2018 assembly election as a Congress candidate and lost, filed an election petition against Reddy after his victory. Subsequently, she joined the BJP and currently holds the position of national vice president within the party.
Her argument in the high court was centered on Reddy's alleged concealment of information about his property and assets, notably failing to disclose details of 24.09 acres of land in Pudur village, Mahabubnagar district, Telangana. She also claimed that Reddy did not provide information about his wife's bank account details.
Reddy has now appealed against the high court's decision to the Supreme Court.