The Telangana High Court on Monday declared former Bharat Rashtra Samithi legislator from Vemulawada, Chennamaneni Ramesh, as a German citizen and not an Indian, and found him guilty of misleading the government to contest elections in Telangana.
Justice B. Vijay Sen Reddy, who had reserved his judgment in September 2022, delivered the verdict on Monday, stating that Ramesh contested elections and served as an MLA while holding German citizenship.
The court noted that Ramesh had misled the judiciary for 15 years using false documents.
Aadi Srinivas, a Congress candidate, had previously filed a petition against Ramesh in the High Court, alleging that he contested the elections using false information.
Justice Reddy imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Ramesh. Of this, Rs 25 lakh was ordered to be paid to Aadi Srinivas, the current MLA of the Vemulawada constituency, as compensation for the legal expenses incurred in pursuing the case.
The remaining Rs 5 lakh was directed to be paid to the Telangana State Legal Services Authority.
In his judgment, Justice Reddy highlighted that Ramesh failed to produce any documentation from the German Embassy confirming that he was not a German citizen.
Despite holding German citizenship, Ramesh traveled to Germany multiple times and continued to serve as the MLA for the Vemulawada constituency. The court dismissed his writ petition with exemplary costs.
Ramesh had earlier challenged the Union Ministry of Home Affairs' order declaring him a "non-citizen of India" on the grounds that he held German citizenship.
T. Surya Karan Reddy, Additional Solicitor General of India (ASGI), representing the Centre, informed the court that the petitioner was a dual citizen.
The ASGI argued that Ramesh enjoyed citizenship under both Section 10 and Section 7B of the Citizenship Act, which is prohibited by law as the rights conferred under the two provisions belong to entirely different fields.
"An overseas citizen is not eligible to continue serving as an MLA, a position reserved solely for Indian citizens. As of now, he holds both citizenships," the ASGI contended.
