Quash petitons must state if similar petitions filed earlier: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has directed its Registry to ensure criminal petitions seeking quashing of FIRs or final reports disclose details of earlier similar petitions. The order follows a case where an accused filed a second plea without disclosing the earlier petition.

Legal Correspondent

 

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Hyderabad: Justice J. Sreenivas Rao of the Telangana High Court has directed the Registry to ensure that every criminal petition seeking quashing of an FIR or final report discloses whether a similar petition was filed earlier and, if so, its outcome. The directions came after the Court found that an accused had filed a second criminal petition seeking quashing of the same FIR without disclosing that an earlier petition filed by the accused was already pending before the High Court.

The FIR was registered at Kalloor Police Station, Khammam District. The Court noted that the accused had earlier approached the High Court seeking quashing of the same proceedings. However, while the earlier petition was pending, the accused filed another petition and obtained its disposal without bringing the pendency of the earlier case to the Court’s notice. Following the disclosure, the earlier petition was permitted to be withdrawn, with liberty granted to the second accused to avail remedies available under law.

Taking note of the incident, Justice Sreenivas Rao directed the Registrar (Judicial) to issue a circular requiring that every petition seeking quashing of an FIR or final report must disclose whether any similar petition was previously filed and its result; advocates must file vakalatnama where the petitioner is not in jail; and petitions challenging final reports or interlocutory orders must disclose the status of proceedings before the trial Court and enclose the e-Courts case status.