Venkat Reddy as in valid as he furnished false information

The Hyderabad High Court has slapped cost of Rs `5,000 each on two petitioners for challenging the election of Komatireddy Venkat Reddy from Nalgonda Assembly segment in 2014 on flimsy grounds. 

Justice A. Ramalingeswara Rao, while dismissing the election petitions by D. Narasimha Reddy and K Bhoopal Reddy seeking to declare the election of Venkat Reddy as in valid as he furnished false information with regard to his educational qualification.The petitioners told the court that the highest qualification of the elected MLA was Intermediate, but he had claimed in his nomination that he is an engineering graduate to secure votes.

They submitted that the MLA had joined B.E. course in CBIT institute and pursued the said course from 1982 to 1986 but he could not complete his degree though he has been pursuing study and writing examinations till 1989.Mr. Venkat Reddy told the court that he had joined engineering course after his intermediate education and he was under a bonafide impression that he was required to furnish the full educational qualifications the level of education pursued and with that impression in mind; he referred to B.E. course in parenthesis.

He submitted that it is a common practice in the state to refer to any incomplete course in brackets and he knows that a degree is put in brackets when the degree is not completed.