Hyderabad: A local court passed an order to issue notices to Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state general secretary Kasam Venkateshwarlu on Wednesday, August 21.
The special judicial first class magistrate for excise cases stated the notice should be issued under Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Code by September 25.
On examination of the statements of Venkateshwarlu and another person Ajay Kumar in addition to the complaint and the material placed before the court, it was felt that prima facie a case was made out against the chief minister, the order said.
On May 24, the BJP general secretary accused the chief minister of making false and baseless allegations against the saffron party. He alleged that Revanth, on May 4, said that the BJP was going to abolish the reservation for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the backward classes.
According to Venkateshwarlu, the allegations were made during the Lok Sabha election meeting convened at Prakasam stadium in Kothagudem town of Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
After adjournments on four hearings, as responded Reddy remained absent, the BJP general secretary knocked on the doors of Telangana High Court by filing a criminal petition.
Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the High Court disposed of the petition directing the special JFCM to decide the complaint in accordance with law as soon as possible. Following the High Court’s direction, the magistrate heard the petition again and ordered notices to the chief minister.
