Telangana High Court upholds preventive detention of pesticide dealer

The Telangana High Court upheld the preventive detention of pesticide dealer Muddangula Aditya, accused of selling spurious and misbranded pesticides. The Bench said such activities could cause crop losses, financial hardship to farmers and wider public unrest, affecting public order.

Hyderabad: Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Renuka Yara of the Telangana High Court upheld the preventive detention of a pesticide dealer accused of manufacturing and selling spurious and misbranded pesticides, observing that such activities could seriously harm farmers and affect public order.

The Bench dismissed a writ petition challenging the detention of Muddangula Aditya, who was classified as an “insecticide offender” under the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1986. The petition was filed by his wife.

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The authorities alleged that Aditya procured spurious pesticides at low prices, repackaged them under the names of reputed companies and sold them to farmers through agents. The Court noted that four cases had been registered against him in 2025 and that laboratory tests had found several seized samples to be misbranded or containing less than the prescribed active ingredients. In some cases, counterfeit and expired pesticides were also allegedly seized.

The Bench observed that the sale of spurious or substandard pesticides cannot be treated as a mere dispute between a seller and purchaser, as their use could result in crop loss, severe financial hardship for farmers and wider public unrest. It further held that a person need not necessarily be labelled a habitual offender before preventive detention could be invoked under the Act. Taking note of the material placed before the detaining authorities, including seizure records, witness statements and expert reports, the Court found no grounds to interfere with the detention order and dismissed the writ petition.