In a big relief to Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh, the Telangana high court on Friday granted a four-week stay on the cancellation of his Indian citizenship by the Union home ministry.
In his interim order, high court judge Justice Challa Kodandaram asked the Union home ministry not to cancel the Indian citizenship of the MLA for a period of four weeks and posted the case to December 16 for further hearing.
Ramesh, who has been representing Vemulawada assembly constituency in Rajanna Siricilla district for the last three terms, moved the high court on Thursday, challenging the Wednesday’s order of Union home ministry which declared that the lawmaker ceased to be an Indian citizen.
The ministry said Ramesh had held citizenship of Germany and had not fulfilled the stipulated norms while obtaining the Indian citizenship in 2009.
Ramesh had gone to Germany for employment in early ‘90s and obtained German Citizenship in 1993, when he surrendered his Indian passport. In 2008, he returned to India and applied for Indian citizenship which was granted to him by the MHA in 2009.
As per the Citizenship Act, a person who applies for an Indian citizenship should be present in India at least for one year before the date of application. However, it was found that Ramesh had travelled to Germany within 12 months of applying for the Indian citizenship.