Telangana High Court quashes cases against Bandi Sanjay and Etela Rajendar

Justice Lakshman, upon examining the case record, observed that the investigating officer failed to collect substantive evidence to support the prosecution's claims and that the continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of process of law. The Court accordingly quashed the case.

Hyderabad: Justice K. Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday quashed criminal cases registered against Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar and BJP MP Etela Rajender in connection with alleged violations during the 2023 Assembly elections.

The quash petition filed by Bandi Sanjay pertained to a case registered by Karimnagar police for alleged provocative remarks he made against the then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao during a press conference held amidst the Assembly election campaign. The case was pending before the Karimnagar Magistrate Court.

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The petitioner contended that the remarks attributed to him were taken out of context and that the ingredients required to constitute an offence under the invoked provisions were not present. The investigation had failed to establish any cogent material or direct evidence to sustain the charges.

Justice Lakshman, upon examining the case record, observed that the investigating officer failed to collect substantive evidence to support the prosecution’s claims and that the continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of process of law. The Court accordingly quashed the case.

In a separate but related petition, the Court also quashed a criminal case registered against BJP MP Etela Rajender by Kamalapur police in Hanamkonda district for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct during the same election period. The charges included unauthorised campaigning activities and breach of election regulations.