diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/TermInfosReader.java b/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/TermInfosReader.java
index 7ca4f1048c1..47b6fabf5d3 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/TermInfosReader.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/lucene/index/TermInfosReader.java
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ final class TermInfosReader {
     if (size == 0) return null;
 
     SegmentTermEnum enumerator = getThreadResources().termEnum;
-    if (enumerator != null && enumerator.term() != null &&
+    if (enumerator.term() != null &&
         position >= enumerator.position &&
 	position < (enumerator.position + totalIndexInterval))
       return scanEnum(enumerator, position);      // can avoid seek