Supreme Court Seeks Personal Presence Of Telangana DGP In View Of 'Disconnect Between Prosecution & Govt Counsel'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 1) expressed surprise over the lack of communication between the prosecution and the Telangana's Government Counsel over the date of filling the chargesheets in a criminal cases.

Taking serious note of 'disconnect between the prosecution and the Government', the Court has directed the presence of the Director General of Police (DGP) of Telangana for the next hearing, either in person or through virtual means.

"The DGP, State of Telangana should be available to participate in the proceeding either physically or through virtual mode, on the next date."

The bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti was hearing a plea filed by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Vatti Janaiah Yadav who had moved the Apex Court last year against the alleged criminal persecution by the then Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led Government in Telangana after Yadav made a political switch from BRS to BSP . 

Notably, the Court had granted interim protection to Yadav on October 6, 2023 in 13 FIRs registered against him. 

Today, during the hearing, the Counsel representing the  State of Telangana, informed the court that chargesheets had been filed in all relevant cases. However, the Court noted that when asked about the specific filing dates, she was unable to provide this information. 

The court expressed surprise at this lack of knowledge, stating that such basic details should be readily available or provided by the instructing officer. The bench recorded that this reflected a 'disconnect between the prosecution and the Government' 

"We are indeed surprised by the response of the Government counsel as the respective dates of filing of the chargesheets should either be readily accessible or the instructing officer should have indicated the relevant dates of the chargesheets together when the information was given that chargesheets were filed. The disconnect between the prosecution and the Government counsel is clearly discernible." 

Furthermore, the Supreme Court has directed the State's counsel to file all relevant details before the next hearing date. The matter will now be heard on October 4.  

Advocate Vinay P Tripathi, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. State of Telangana was represented by Advocate Devina Sehgal. 

Case Details : VATTI JANAIAH v. STATE OF TELANGANA| Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s). 12098/2023

Click here to read the order