Telangana HC grants relief to Konatham Dileep, stays five FIRs

After hearing the detailed arguments and considering the precedents cited, the High Court granted the stay on further proceedings in the five FIRs registered at Nirmal Town, Kadem, Mudhol, and Lokeshwaram police stations, pending the quash petition.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice N. Tukaramji of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday stayed further proceedings in five First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against Konatham Dileep, former Director of Digital Media, at various police stations in Nirmal district. The interim order provides significant relief to Dileep, who had sought the court’s intervention in the multiple cases.

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Senior advocate K. Vivek Reddy, representing Dileep, argued that the registration of FIRs without a preliminary inquiry, especially in matters pertaining to freedom of speech, contravenes established Supreme Court guidelines. He cited the precedent set in the Imran Pratapgarhi case, where the apex court had emphasized the necessity of a preliminary inquiry before proceeding with registration of FIRs in such instances.

Reddy also highlighted the illegality of registering multiple FIRs across different police stations for what he contended was the same issue, drawing parallels to the observations made in the Arnab Goswami case by the Supreme Court. He argued that such an approach amounts to an abuse of the legal process.

The counsel also addressed specific allegations, particularly a remark attributed to Dileep concerning the HCU incident, which stated, “The forest will be destroyed.” He submitted that even considering the observations of the High Court Registrar and the Supreme Court, the petitioner’s actions in this context could not be construed as a crime.

After hearing the detailed arguments and considering the precedents cited, the High Court granted the stay on further proceedings in the five FIRs registered at Nirmal Town, Kadem, Mudhol, and Lokeshwaram police stations, pending the quash petition.