Telangana HC Voids BRS Gadwal MLA Krishna Mohan Reddy’s Election, Declares DK Aruna As Legislator

In 2019, Aruna had filed an election petition challenging the returning officer declaring Mohan Reddy as the Gadwal MLA

The Telangana High Court on Thursday set aside the election of BRS’ Gadwal MLA Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy and declared BJP national vice-president D.K. Aruna the legislator, effective from December 12, 2018. According to the IANS report, the court delivered its verdict in response to a petition filed Aruna, who accused Krishna Mohan of providing incorrect information in his affidavit during the 2018 elections.

The court issued the verdict after finding discrepancies between the EVM (electronic voting machine) data and the printed VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) slips. The court also found that Mohan Reddy had not disclosed in the election affidavit property details, loans availed of by him and government dues, which amounts to corrupt practice as per the Representation of People’s Act and liable to disqualification.

Krishna Mohan, a member of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), secured a victory in the Gadwal state Assembly seat, surpassing his closest rival Aruna by a margin of over 28,000 votes.

Aruna, who had then contested the election as a Congress candidate, is now with the BJP.

The court's decision arrived four years after Aruna lodged the petition, urging the court to set aside Krishna Mohan's election. In 2019, Aruna had filed an election petition challenging the returning officer declaring Mohan Reddy as the Gadwal MLA.

Besides declaring Mohan Reddy’s election void, Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court imposed a fine of Rs. 2.5 lakh on him for filing a false affidavit. Further, the BRS leader was directed to pay Rs. 50,000 to Aruna to cover her legal expenses.

In response to the high court's order, Krishna Mohan stated that the order was pronounced in his absence. He also declared his intention to contest this decision in the Supreme Court.

Krishna Mohan is the second BRS MLA whose election has been set aside by the court in a month. On July 25, the high court set aside the election of MLA Vanama Venkateshwar Rao and declared Jalagam Venkat Rao as the rightful representative of the Kothagudem Assembly segment. The court's judgment was based on an election petition filed by Venkat Rao, contesting the election of Venkateshwar Rao. Notably, both leaders are currently affiliated with the BRS party.