Telangana High Court quashes criminal case against Raja Singh, two former MLAs

The petitioners were booked for allegedly staging a protest at the GHMC Head Office without permission and in breach of COVID protocols

Hyderabad: Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Monday quashed a criminal case registered against MLA T Raja Singh, and former MLAs Chinthala Ramachandra Reddy and NVSS Prabhakar, in connection with an alleged violation of COVID-19 restrictions during a protest held in June 2021.

The petitioners, along with several other BJP leaders, were booked under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Disaster Management Act, and the Epidemic Diseases Act, for allegedly staging a protest at the GHMC Head Office without permission and in breach of COVID protocols. The prosecution claimed that around 150 party members had obstructed public movement and violated lockdown guidelines by assembling without masks or social distancing.

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However, the court found that the investigation lacked independent evidence, and no public witnesses were examined to substantiate the allegations. It was further noted that the authorities had failed to establish that the accused had actual knowledge of any prohibitory order, a key requirement under Section 188 IPC, and that there was no valid complaint by a competent public servant, as required under Section 195 CrPC, to initiate proceedings for disobedience of such orders.

Justice Lakshman observed that the chargesheet was based solely on statements of police personnel and lacked the basic ingredients to proceed against the accused. Given these shortcomings, and citing established legal precedents, the Court concluded that the continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of the judicial process. Accordingly, the criminal proceedings against the petitioners were quashed.