Justice G. Radha Rani of Telangana High Court had awarded punishment of four-week imprisonment to four officers of Hyderabad Police Commissionerate, including Additional Commissioner (Crimes) A.R. Srinivas, in a contempt of court case.
The judge suspended the sentence for four weeks, giving time for the contemnors to go for an appeal. The contempt of court petition was filed by two Non-Resident Indians, a septuagenarian Jakka Sowjanya Reddy and her son J. Vinod Kumar Reddy alleging that the police filed charge-sheet in a case of dowry harassment and domestic violence without issuing them the mandatory notice under Section 41-A of Criminal Procedure Code.
Mr. Vinod Kumar Reddy’s wife Sumana Paruchuri lodged a complaint with the Jubilee Hills police on November 14, 2019 leading to registration of a case against him and his mother.. Initially, sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) were invoked against them but eventually sections 498A and 506 of Indian Penal Code and sections of the Domestic Violence Act.
The petitioners filed a criminal petition in the HC and later moved the Supreme Court which passed an order staying all further proceedings in the case, said the petitioner’s counsel and Supreme Court lawyer Diljit Singh Ahluwalia. He contended that police issued a second FIR with near similar content in 2020 and filed a charge-sheet.
“They did not comply with the mandatory procedure of issuing notice to the accused (petitioners here) and filed the charge-sheet,” Mr. Ahluwalia said before the HC while presenting his contentions. This was gross abuse of the process of law and violation of the guidelines settled by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar, the apex court counsel said.
Lawyer Shyam Agrawal appeared for the police officers A.R. Srinivas (who was then Deputy Commissioner of Police of west zone), Banjara Hills ACP M. Sudarshan, Jubilee Hills Inspector S. Rajashekhar Reddy and Jubilee Hills Sub-Inspector Ch. Naresh. The judge held the four officers guilty of violation of Supreme Court guidelines and awarded punishment.
