Telangana High Court exempts Teenmaar Mallanna from personal appearance in 120 cases for eight weeks

The order came while hearing a writ petition by Mallanna seeking a direction to the State government to withdraw the criminal cases registered against him and to transfer all such cases to the Special Court

Hyderabad: Justice N Tukaramji of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday dispensed with the personal appearance of MLC Chintapandu Naveen Kumar alias Teenmaar Mallanna before various trial courts in the State for a period of eight weeks in connection with about 120 criminal cases registered against him. The order came while hearing a writ petition filed by the petitioner seeking a direction to the State government to withdraw the criminal cases registered against him and to transfer all such cases to the Special Court constituted to try criminal cases against public representatives.

Taking note of the submissions made on behalf of the petitioner, the Court granted a temporary exemption from personal appearance before the lower courts where the cases are pending across Telangana. The suo motu case was registered by the High Court in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court in Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs Union of India relating to expeditious disposal of criminal cases against public representatives. Senior counsel Suresh Ram, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that Mallanna was facing around 120 criminal cases, many of which arose out of similar allegations, and it was practically impossible for him to appear before different courts located across the State on multiple dates.

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He also pointed out that the State government had constituted a Special Court at Nampally, Hyderabad, through G.O. Ms No. 6 dated February 28, 2018, to try criminal cases against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies. However, the GO does not include Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) within its scope. The senior counsel argued that since the petitioner is also a public representative as an MLC, the criminal cases registered against him should likewise be transferred to the designated Special Court.

Mahesh Raje, Government Pleader for Home, opposed the plea and submitted that the Special Courts were constituted strictly in compliance with the directions issued by the Supreme Court in the Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay case. The directions specifically refer to criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, and the Government Order reflects the same. He contended that inclusion of MLCs within the ambit of the Special Court would require directions from the Supreme Court.

After hearing the parties, the Court granted exemption from personal appearance before the trial courts for eight weeks and ordered that the writ petition be tagged with the pending suo motu case dealing with expeditious trial of criminal cases against public representatives.