Telangana High Court Asks State To Pay Rs 25,000 To Four Persons Falsely Implicated By Police In Trespass Case

The Telangana High Court has directed the State to pay Rs 25,000 to four persons, who were implicated by the police in a case despite not having been named in the private complaint or any of the witness statements.

Justice M. Laxman quashed the proceedings against the four accused and held that the actions of the police officials were “a clear case of abuse of process.”

“Their names were mentioned neither in the FIR nor in the private complaint and their names were also not referred by any of the witnesses including the complainant, who is the only eye-witness. The charge-sheet is filed without any basis and no reasons were assigned by the investigating officer,” the court said.

According to the prosecution case, the complainant is the absolute owner and possessor of an open plot situated in Bachupally Village, Quthbullapur Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, having acquired the same by way of a gift deed obtained from his mother, who purchased the same under a registered sale deed.

In January 2009. Kolan Hanumanth Reddy and his accomplices allegedly trespassed into the plot of the complainant and prevented him from constructing compound wall. However, a private complaint in relation of the incident was filed only in 2017. While the police initially "issued FIR" initially against Kolan Hanumantha Reddy and others, but subsequently when charge sheet was filed, Reddy's name was deleted and the four petitioners were chargesheeted instead.

The bench noted that the only witness to the alleged trespass is the complainant, who named only Kolan Hanumantha Reddy and his accomplices, "but he did not refer the names of the petitioners/accused Nos.1 to 4."

"In the entire statements of witnesses examined by the investigating officer, absolutely there is no reference about the interference of the petitioners, who are arrayed as accused Nos.1 to 4 in the Charge sheet," said the court.

The court said the charge-sheet was filed without any basis and no reasons were assigned by the investigating officer that why the name of K. Hanumanth Reddy was deleted while filing the charge-sheet, even though the complainant in his statement clearly referred to him and his accomplices.

“On account of improper investigation, the petitioners were unnecessarily subjected to criminal prosecution and undergone mental agony. Therefore, this Court is inclined to quash the criminal proceedings by awarding exemplary costs of Rs.25,000/-,” it added.

While directing that the amount shall be equally apportioned to the petitioners, the court said State will be at liberty to recover the money from the concerned investigating officer, who filed the charge-sheet.

Title: Koduluri Ramu & ors. Vs. State of Telangana

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