Telangana High Court Fines Ex-MLA for Contesting Elections as German Citizen

Chennamaneni Ramesh, a former BRS leader, was found guilty of using forged documents to claim Indian citizenship and contest elections.

The Telangana High Court ruled that Chennamaneni Ramesh, a former MLA from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), is a German citizen and used forged documents to contest elections in India.
Ramesh was fined ₹30 lakh, with ₹25 lakh payable to Congress leader Aadi Srinivas, who defeated him in the 2023 Vemulawada Assembly election.
The court noted that Ramesh failed to provide proof from the German embassy showing he had renounced his German citizenship, a requirement under Indian law.
The Union Home Ministry had revoked Ramesh's Indian citizenship in 2020, citing misrepresentation and concealment of facts in his citizenship application.
Ramesh previously won the Vemulawada seat four times, once with the Telugu Desam Party and three times with the BRS, despite ongoing legal challenges to his citizenship status.