The Election Commission has told the Telangana High Court that it will not notify the Khairatabad bypoll until a pending election petition challenging the 2023 Assembly election is decided, placing the constituency’s electoral process on hold.
The submission was made on Thursday by the commission’s standing counsel, Avinash Desai, before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy. The hearing concerned a writ petition filed by former corporator P. Vijaya Reddy, who opposed the notification of a by-election while her election petition remains pending.
Vijaya Reddy’s election petition, filed in 2024, challenges the election of former MLA Danam Nagender from Khairatabad in the 2023 Assembly polls. She has alleged that Nagender suppressed material information about the assets of his wife and dependents in the Form-26 affidavit submitted during the election. The petition seeks to invalidate Nagender’s election and declare Vijaya Reddy duly elected from the constituency.
Senior counsel Vedula Venkataramana, appearing for Vijaya Reddy, argued that Khairatabad could not be treated as a casual vacancy until the election petition was finally decided. He relied on provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, including Sections 84, 98(c) and 101(b), as well as legal principles laid down by the Supreme Court.
The Election Commission’s submission before the court effectively aligned with the position advanced by Vijaya Reddy’s counsel. Desai told the bench that the vacancy would be notified only after the election petition is disposed of. The commission has not yet issued a bypoll notification for the constituency.
The election petition is still pending before the High Court and, according to the report, had not been listed before the bench at the time of the hearing. The proceedings therefore connect the timing of any future bypoll notification to the court’s adjudication of the original election challenge rather than to a routine electoral calendar.
The case also highlights the administrative consequences of a disputed Assembly election. A vacancy that might ordinarily trigger a by-election remains subject to the court’s determination when the validity of the original election is under challenge. The Election Commission’s position places the legal status of the constituency at the centre of the next electoral step.
After hearing the submissions, the division bench posted the writ petition for October 6 and directed the Election Commission to file an affidavit placing its assurance on record. The court’s further proceedings and the eventual decision on the election petition will determine when the commission can proceed with notifying the Khairatabad bypoll.
