Telangana HC stays Nagarkurnool zilla parishad chief\'s disqualification

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday stayed the disqualification of Nagarkurnool district zilla parishad chairman Peddapally Padmavathi, a TRS member, on an order issued by the election tribunal of Nagarkurnool.

The election tribunal, in an order dated July 14, disqualified Padmavathi from the post on the grounds that she had three children, on complaints filed by the BJP and Congress.

As per the Panchayat Raj and Election Commission Rules, a person cannot contest to become a people’s representative if they have three children.

Padmavathi’s counsels Dammalapati Srinivas and Rohit Pogula argued in the High Court that the tribunal issued the orders without considering the merits of the response presented by the representative.

They contended that Padmavathi had given birth to twins during her second delivery. Also, her husband was previously elected as an MPTC official and a petition seeking his disqualification was disposed of by the courts, they said, citing it as a precedent.

They submitted to the court that the material evidence placed on record was also not considered, following which Justice Annireddy Abhishek Reddy issued an interim suspension order.