Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has reserved its verdict until July 18 on a petition moved by chief minister and erstwhile Congress MP A Revanth Reddy. The petition is to cancel a first information report (FIR) filed in 2016 at Gachibowli police station, under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, relating to a reported land row at Gopanapalli in Rangareddy district.
The matter comes from a complaint made by N Peddi Raju, president of the Razole Constituency SC Cooperative Housing Society.
Raju reports that Revanth Reddy’s brother, Kondal Reddy, and an associate, E Lakshmaiah, broke into about two acres of land owned by the society, destroyed buildings and compound walls, and used caste slurs against him, allegedly on the instruction of the chief minister.
The FIR and the chargesheet filed afterwards in 2019 stated that, while Raju claimed ownership of the land under his society, facts indicated the sellers did not possess a clear title.
On the other hand, Kondal Reddy said he had registered 31 acres of the same survey number in 2005. Investigations found that the accused intruded upon the land belonging to the society and conducted the demolition.
In the recent hearings, High Court bench headed by Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya questioned both sides on technicalities of law. Revanth Reddy’s lawyer contended he was not on site at the time of the incident, emphasizing that imposing the strict SC/ST Atrocities Act in the absence of his physical presence was legally untenable.
The prosecution, citing eight witness testimonies, pointed out that none placed Revanth at the scene and demanded dismissal of the personal appearance exemption granted to him five years ago .
The case, currently before a special trial court under the SC/ST Atrocities Act in Rangareddy, now awaits the High Court’s ruling on July 18 to determine whether the FIR and associated charges can be set aside.
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