Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) candidate Maganti Sunitha has approached the Telangana High Court challenging the outcome of the Jubilee Hills Assembly by-election held last month. In her election petition filed on Monday, December 29, Sunitha sought to set aside the election of the winning candidate and requested that she be declared the duly elected MLA from the constituency.

Sunitha, wife of former Jubilee Hills MLA Maganti Gopinath, alleged that the election process was vitiated due to serious violations of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. The petition specifically claims that mandatory provisions relating to the disclosure and publication of criminal antecedents of candidates were not properly followed. According to her plea, these disclosures are essential for maintaining transparency and enabling voters to make an informed choice.

The Jubilee Hills bypoll was notified by the Election Commission of India in October 2025, with polling held on November 11 and counting conducted on November 14. As many as 58 candidates contested the election, in which Congress candidate Naveen Yadav emerged victorious with a margin of 24,729 votes. Sunitha has alleged that Yadav failed to publish complete and accurate details of criminal cases in the manner prescribed by law, amounting to a corrupt practice.

The petition relies on binding Supreme Court judgments that recognise disclosure of criminal antecedents as a vital component of free and fair elections, flowing from the voter’s fundamental right to information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It also alleges lapses on the part of election authorities in enforcing compliance with Election Commission guidelines. The matter is currently at the scrutiny stage and is awaiting listing before an appropriate single judge of the High Court.