High Court grants partial relief to Revanth Reddy in Excise Case

The Telangana High Court granted conditional relief to CM Revanth Reddy in a criminal case linked to a 2021 rally, exempting him from routine court appearances but requiring presence when summoned

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Monday granted conditional relief to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in connection with a criminal case pending before the Principal Special Judicial First Class Magistrate for Excise Cases, Hyderabad.

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The High Court dispensed with the Chief Minister’s personal appearance at every hearing but directed that he must remain present before the trial court whenever specifically required by the Magistrate.

The case stems from an FIR registered at Kamalapur Police Station, Warangal district, on October 24, 2021, when Mr Reddy was a Member of Parliament representing the Congress Party. He is arrayed as Accused No. 7 along with party leaders K Satyanarayana, G Charan Patel, Balasani Ramesh Goud, Podeti Bixapati, Thoutam Ravinder, and Balmoori Venkat Narsing Rao.

According to the prosecution, Revanth Reddy and the others organised a gathering of about 2,500 party workers, violating the permitted limit of 1,000 persons, thereby breaching the Model Code of Conduct, Covid-19 safety norms, and provisions of Section 188 IPC and Section 51(b) of the Disaster Management Act.

Challenging the proceedings, the Chief Minister has sought quashing of the case before the High Court. Justice Lakshman directed the petitioner’s counsel to serve notice to the complainant and file their counters by September 9. The matter was adjourned for further hearing.