Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday, July 17, quashed the criminal case filed against chief minister A Revanth Reddy under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The case, which originated from a 2016 FIR registered at Gachibowli police station, was based on allegations that Revanth Reddy, along with his brother Kondal Reddy and associate E Lakshmaiah, attempted to forcibly enter land belonging to the Razole Constituency SC Mutually Aided Cooperative Housing Society, and verbally abused the society president, N Peddi Raju, with caste-based language.
The dispute centred around 31 acres in Survey No. 127 of Gopanpally village. Peddi Raju’s complaint stated that Revanth Reddy’s brother and associate encroached on the society’s land with Reddy’s encouragement, demolished structures on the site, and verbally abused him by invoking his caste.
Based on these claims, charges were filed under multiple sections of both the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Act.
Revanth Reddy petitioned HC to quash FIR in 2020
Revanth Reddy petitioned the High Court in 2020 to quash the FIR, arguing that the allegations were baseless, politically motivated, and that he was not present at the incident site.
During the hearing, the court was informed that none of the eight witnesses examined by the police could confirm Revanth Reddy’s presence at the scene on January 12, 2016, the date on which the incident allegedly occurred.
Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya, delivering the judgment, emphasised that the prosecution failed to produce any material evidence linking Revanth Reddy to the alleged offence.
The judge remarked that allegations alone could not warrant a conviction and that there was no proof of Reddy’s physical presence or involvement in the incident.
The bench also noted that previous similar complaints by the same complainant had been dismissed by the courts for lack of evidence.
With the absence of direct or corroborative evidence against Revanth Reddy, the High Court allowed his petition and quashed all proceedings, describing the charges as lacking merit.
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