HC directs accused in poachgate to surrender, if not, police can arrest them

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Saturday set aside the order of the special judge of the additional ACB court, who had refused to remand the three accused in the alleged poaching of TRS legislators and had released them.

Justice Chillakur Sumalatha of Telangana High Court directed the three accused — Ramachandra Bharathi, Kore Nandu Kumar and D.P.S.K.V.N. Simhayaji — to surrender before the Cyberabad police commissioner. In case they failed to do so, the police will be granted the liberty to arrest them.

On such surrender or arrest, they shall be produced before the magistrate concerned for remanding them to judicial custody, the court said.

The judge said the police must follow all formalities and suggested that the magistrate of the concerned court verify compliance of requirements under the CrPC.

Justice Sumalatha passed the orders in the criminal revision case filed by Telangana police, challenging the rejection of remand application by the ACB court.

On Saturday, senior counsel Veduala Srinivas and Immaneni Rama Rao, representing the accused, submitted that the revision petition filed by the police was not maintainable, as there were no final orders passed by the ACB court. Further, mentioning Supreme Court guidelines in the Arnesh Kumar case, which says that issuing a notice under Section 41-A of the CrPC is mandatory before any arrest.

They said the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act would not be attracted as the case was registered by the law and order police.

Rejecting these contentions, Justice Sumalatha passed a lengthy order, explaining the circumstances under which the police could arrest a person without issuing a warrant. The court opined that it was not humiliation of the accused.

‘When the accused were present at the alleged scene of offence and the police had received a complaint about the offence, they could arrest the accused’, the court observed.