Telangana High Court Declares Former BRS MLA A German Citizen, Imposes Rs 30 Lakh Fine On Chennamaneni Ramesh

The Telangana High Court declared on Monday (9 December) that former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader, Chennamaneni Ramesh, is a German national.

He is convicted of falsifying documents to portray himself as an Indian citizen in order to compete for the Vemulawada assembly seat, which he represented from 2009 to 2023.

This ruling came in response to a petition filed by Aadi Srinivas of the Congress party, who won the assembly constituency in the 2023 election, NDTV reported.

The court ruled that Ramesh was unable to furnish proof from the German embassy to verify his non-citizenship status in Germany. Consequently, a fine of Rs 30 lakh was levied on him. Of this, Rs 25 lakh will need to be paid to Srinivas.

Srinivas posted on X after the verdict, "Backlash to former MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh... 30 lakhs fined to Ramesh who was elected MLA with false documents as a German citizen..."

Previously, Ramesh had been victorious in securing the Vemulawada seat on four occasions. His initial win was in 2009, representing the Telugu Desam Party.

Subsequently, he triumphed three more times from 2010 to 2018, which included a by-election following his decision to change parties and join BRS, then Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

As per legal stipulations, individuals who are not Indian citizens are prohibited from participating in or voting during elections.

In 2020, it was communicated to the Telangana High Court by the centre that Ramesh was in possession of a German passport, which was due to expire in 2023.

The Union Home Ministry had already put out an order to cancel his Indian citizenship, as he had hidden certain details in his application. The ministry stated that Ramesh's misrepresentation or concealment of facts deceived the Indian Government.

It asserted that if he had disclosed that he had not lived in India for a year prior to submitting his application, the responsible department within the ministry would not have approved his citizenship. Subsequently, Ramesh lodged a dispute against the directive issued by the Home Ministry.

He was subsequently requested to submit an affidavit that reveals and includes specifics regarding the relinquishment of his German passport, along with evidence that he has renounced his German nationality.

In 2013, the High Court of the previously undivided Andhra Pradesh nullified the bypoll victory for the same reason. Following this, Ramesh appealed to the Supreme Court and successfully obtained a stay.

During the period of this stay, he challenged and emerged victorious in the elections of 2014 and 2018. However, he did not contest the 2023 election.