Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday, June 30, restrained the state government from withdrawing the bullet-proof vehicle allotted to retired IPS officer and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader RS Praveen Kumar, at least for a week, pending further orders.
Justice Tangirala Madhavi Devi passed the interim direction on a writ petition moved by Praveen Kumar, asking the government pleader (Home) to obtain instructions from the state on the issue within seven days.
The court directed that the vehicle shall remain with the petitioner till the matter comes up for hearing again.
Praveen Kumar, a 1995-batch IPS officer who took voluntary retirement in 2021 and now serves as BRS general secretary, moved the High Court after the government sought to recall the security vehicle provided to him.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Gandra Mohan Rao told the court that the withdrawal was communicated only through a verbal instruction to the driver, with no formal written order or fresh security review preceding the move.
He submitted that no threat assessment had been carried out afresh before the decision was taken, and that due process had not been followed.
Arguing for continuation of the protection, Praveen Kumar’s counsel referred to his record in the police force, including his role in anti-Naxal operations in undivided Karimnagar district, then considered a stronghold of the erstwhile CPI (ML) People’s War Group, later CPI (Maoist).
The counsel contended that given his past role in countering Left-wing extremism and the rehabilitation of several former Naxalites into mainstream society, the threat to his life persisted and the security cover, along with the specialised vehicle, ought to continue.
The withdrawal of security had earlier triggered political reactions, with BRS leaders, including V Srinivas Goud, and organisations such as the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) objecting to the move and citing threats Praveen Kumar had faced during his three-decade police career, including an attempt to target the Karimnagar SP office.
Praveen Kumar later served as secretary of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TGSWREIS) before quitting ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections to join the Bahujan Samaj Party. He finished third from Sirpur that year, and again contested and lost from Nagarkurnool on a BRS ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections before being made the party’s general secretary.
The Government Pleader for Home, Mahesh Raje, was directed by the court to place the state’s response on record. The matter has been posted for further hearing after a week.
This post was last modified on July 1, 2026 1:59 pm