Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has made it clear that before filing cases against public representatives or individuals for alleged violations of election-related official orders, authorities must strictly adhere to the procedures and guidelines earlier set by the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court.

The court instructed the state Director General of Police (DGP) to prepare detailed guidelines based on these rulings and ensure their implementation in future elections.

Petitions filed by Patancheru MLA, ex-BRS MLA

Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar issued these directions while hearing petitions filed by Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy and former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator Pilot Rohith Reddy, seeking the quashing of criminal cases registered against them.

The court ultimately set aside the cases, observing several procedural lapses by the police.

Case from 2023 Assembly elections

The case against Mahipal Reddy was registered during the 2023 Assembly elections, alleging that money was being distributed at a function hall in Patancheru.

Justice Anil Kumar, while examining the case on Monday, expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the police recorded the FIR. He noted that when a case is booked under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)—relating to disobedience of an official order—the mandatory procedure under Section 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) must be followed, as the Supreme Court had clearly ruled in 2018.

A single-judge bench of the Madras High Court had also reiterated similar directions recently.

Police failed to follow due process: Judge

However, in this instance, the Telangana police failed to follow due process, the judge observed. He pointed out that the investigation officers registered the case immediately after receiving a complaint without verifying facts or obtaining proper written authorisation.

Under Section 188, written evidence of the violation must exist, and if not included in the FIR or charge sheet, the court must refrain from taking it up for trial, the judge said.

In the case against Mahipal Reddy, police alleged that four BRS workers were caught with Rs. 52,400 in cash and several voter ID cards. The judge noted that the complaint did not specify whether any voters were actually present, questioning how money could be distributed in the absence of recipients.

Since neither the complaint nor the charge sheet mentioned any voters, the court ruled that the case could not be sustained and quashed it accordingly.

Case against Pilot Rohith Reddy

Similarly, the case against Pilot Rohith Reddy under the same IPC section was also dismissed. The court remarked that a large number of such cases were pending unnecessarily, burdening the judiciary’s time and resources.

To avoid such procedural lapses in the future, it directed the DGP to issue comprehensive guidelines and ensure compliance during the upcoming elections.

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