NEW DELHI, Sept. 25 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the disqualification of Telangana legislator Danam Nagender from the assembly, observing that lawmakers who switch political parties forfeit their membership of the House even if they later attempt to rejoin their original party. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant dismissed the appeal filed by Nagender, who was elected to the assembly in 2023 on a Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) ticket but contested the 2024 Secunderabad Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate. The Telangana high court on September 18 disqualified him as an MLA with effect from April 2024 when he contested as a Congress candidate. Nagender challenged the ruling, saying he had already returned to the BRS after losing the Lok Sabha election. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Nagender argued one could voluntarily give up membership under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India, and now he had joined back the BRS. The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, weren't convinced. "How will your ghar wapasi (home coming) to your party save you? When an act of defection is done, you lose the membership of the House. You may be brought back to the party, but you have to leave the House," the court said. Amused by the party-hopping politician's approach, the bench said, "Your situation is not Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram. It is Phir Aaya Ram. You had a fixed deposit (FD) in your MLA seat and a share market investment in MP seat. It is a bumper draw you took. Now the FD stands forfeited."...