On 9th December, the Telangana High Court, in its judgment, stripped former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh of his Indian citizenship and declared him a German citizen. Furthermore, the court imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Chennamaneni for concealing information about his German citizenship and misleading the judiciary. This judgment marked the first instance in Indian history where a former legislator lost Indian citizenship.
In the judgment, Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy noted that Chennamaneni’s actions since 2009 deprived genuine Indian citizens of their right to contest elections. Notably, the Ministry of Home Affairs had already cancelled his Indian citizenship due to his status as a German citizen. The decision of the Union Home Ministry was upheld by the Telangana High Court.
A writ petition was filed by Chennamaneni in the High Court challenging the Central Government’s 2019 order stripping him of Indian citizenship. However, the High Court found that the decision of the Union Ministry was in accordance with the law. Notably, Rs 25 lakh of the Rs 30 lakh fine is to be paid to the current Vemulawada MLA, Aadi Srinivas, who has consistently fought a legal battle against Chennamaneni for several years, challenging his citizenship.
The remaining Rs 5 lakh will go to the Telangana State Legal Services Authority, as per court orders. The court further noted that Chennamaneni failed to present any documents from Germany confirming that he was not a German citizen, as he had claimed in court.
The court observed that Chennamaneni had travelled multiple times to Germany and had served as the MLA for Vemulawada despite being a German citizen. The detailed copy of the judgment is yet to be uploaded on the High Court’s website.
Congress leader Aadi Srinivas, through Advocate V. Rohith, argued in court that Chennamaneni had naturalised as a German citizen in the 1990s after settling there. Chennamaneni worked, married, and raised his family in Germany, according to Rohith. Chennamaneni entered politics in 2009 and has since been elected as MLA from Vemulawada four times.
Notably, Srinivas has consistently claimed that Ramesh was a German citizen and accused him of concealing this information to contest elections in the state. In a post on social media platform X, Aadi Srinivas wrote, “The High Court dealt a blow to former BRS MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh, who was found to have been elected as an MLA using false documents while holding German citizenship. The court imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Ramesh, directing him to pay Rs 25 lakh to petitioner Adi Srinivas and Rs 5 lakh to the Legal Services Authority.”
హైకోర్టులో @BRSparty మాజీ ఎమ్మెల్యే చెన్నమనేని రమేష్కు ఎదురుదెబ్బ!
— Future Of Vemulawada (@JaiAadiSrinivas) December 9, 2024
జర్మనీ పౌరుడిగా ఉంటూ తప్పుడు పత్రాలతో ఎమ్మెల్యేగా ఎన్నికైన రమేష్కు ₹30 లక్షల జరిమానా
పిటిషనర్ ఆది శ్రీనివాస్కు ₹25 లక్షలు, లీగల్ సర్వీస్ ఆథారిటీకి ₹5 లక్షలు చెల్లించాల్సిందిగా హైకోర్టు ఆదేశం. pic.twitter.com/shmXIHT5vk
An inquiry initiated against Ramesh by the Home Ministry revealed that he retained his German passport and citizenship despite acquiring Indian citizenship in 2008. The central government, in 2020, informed the Telegana High Court that his German passport was valid till 2023 and an order to revoke his citizenship was already in process.
Chennamaneni’s father, Ch. Rajeshwara Rao, was the CPI floor leader in undivided Andhra Pradesh. Later, he joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Chennamaneni was first elected as an MLA in 2009 on a TDP ticket. In 2010, he shifted to the BRS (then TRS) and won the by-elections. He became an MLA on a BRS ticket in the 2014 and 2019 Assembly polls.
In 2009, Aadi Srinivas contested against Chennamaneni but was defeated by a narrow margin of 1.5% votes. He later contested against Chennamaneni on a BJP ticket and lost again. In 2018, he faced defeat once more. However, in 2023, he won the election against the BRS nominee, Chalimeda Laxmi Narasimha Rao. By that time, Chennamaneni’s citizenship issue had become a significant topic in Telangana’s political landscape, and he was denied a ticket by the BRS. However, he remained in key positions within the party.
