Telangana HC slaps Rs 30 lakh fine on former BRS MLA for concealing German citizenship
The court fined Ramesh Rs 30 lakh, of which Rs 25 lakh is to be paid to Aadi Srinivasa of the Congress party who filed a petition against him
The Telangana High Court on Monday (December 9) declared former BRS leader Chennamaneni Ramesh a German citizen, saying he used forged documents to claim he was an Indian national to contest elections.
The court said Ramesh failed to provide documentation from the German embassy in New Delhi confirming he was no longer a citizen of that country.
The court fined him Rs 30 lakh, of which Rs 25 lakh is to be paid to Aadi Srinivasa of the Congress party who filed a petition against Ramesh.
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Ramesh had won the Vemulawada Assembly seat in Telangana four times -- in 2009 as part of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and then thrice from 2010 to 2018 after he switched to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Under Indian law, non-Indians cannot contest or vote in an election.
It was in 2020 that the Centre informed the Telangana High Court that Ramesh held a German passport valid till 2023.
The court was also informed that the Union home ministry had issued an order revoking his Indian citizenship on grounds that he concealed facts in his application.
“Had he revealed he had not resided in India for one year before making the application, the competent authority in this ministry would not have granted citizenship,” the ministry said.
In 2013, the Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed a by-election victory by Ramesh on grounds of citizenship. He then moved the Supreme Court and got a stay. During this period, he contested and won the 2014 and 2018 elections.
