Bengaluru, February 16 The Karnataka High Court on Monday annulled the election of Congress MLA S N Subba Reddy from the Bagepalli assembly constituency in 2023, declaring the result invalid due to irregularities in his nomination affidavit.
A bench led by Justice M G S Kamal held that Subba Reddy had made false and incomplete disclosures in the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers, including alleged concealment of assets and liabilities, thereby violating electoral norms.
The election petition was filed by his rival, BJP candidate C Muniraju, who contended that the Congress leader had failed to disclose material information, which amounted to a corrupt practice under election law.
Allowing the petition, the High Court annulled Subba Reddy's election but did not declare Muniraju as the returned candidate.
The court said that further steps would rest with the Election Commission of India in accordance with law.
The court also directed that the EC and the Secretary of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly be informed of the order, and that all privileges and benefits extended to Subba Reddy as an MLA would cease immediately.
During the hearing, Subba Reddy’s counsel sought a stay on the judgment to enable an appeal before the Supreme Court, but the High Court declined to grant any interim relief.
