Telangana HC Fines Former MLA for Citizenship Misrepresentation

The Telangana High Court fined former BRS MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh Rs 30 lakh for misrepresenting his German citizenship. The court supported the 2019 revocation of Ramesh's Indian citizenship by the Union Home Ministry and directed him to pay part of the fine to Congress MLA Adi Srinivas for legal expenses.

The Telangana High Court has imposed a Rs 30 lakh fine on former Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh for suppressing and misrepresenting facts related to his German citizenship. The court dismissed Ramesh's petition and upheld the Union Home Ministry's 2019 order that revoked his Indian citizenship.

The court observed that Ramesh, the former MLA from Vemulawada, is not without a nationality, given his possession of a German passport. It found that Ramesh did not provide documents to prove he had renounced his German citizenship despite being directed to do so.

The High Court ordered Ramesh to pay Rs 25 lakh from the fine amount to Congress MLA Adi Srinivas from Vemulawada as compensation for legal expenses. The remaining Rs 5 lakh is to be paid to the Legal Services Authority of the High Court within a month.

(With inputs from agencies.)