GHMC meat shop, slaughterhouse closure orders for Gandhi Jayanti challenged in Telangana HC

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court was not inclined on Thursday to urgently hear a contempt petition filed against the GHMC commissioner for issuing an order for the closure of slaughterhouses and shops selling meat and beef on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti. Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar directed the regular listing of the petition.

The petitioner contended that the commissioner’s order was in violation of the GHMC Act, issued only through press releases to the media and without placing them in the public domain. The petitioner submitted that the issue of authenticated orders or press releases violated multiple provisions of the GHMC Act, 1955, including Sections 533 (b), 586 and 593, and were issued without any regulation passed in accordance with law. He also alleged that the GHMC commissioner had violated the High Court's earlier directions on the procedure to be followed while ordering the closure of meat shops.

The contempt plea was based on an order passed by the High Court dated February 23, 2026, in an earlier writ petition challenging a GHMC letter dated August 4, 2025. The letter had directed that GHMC cattle slaughterhouses and retail beef shops to remain closed on August 15 and 16, 2025, on account of Independence Day and Janmashtami.

Though the writ petition was dismissed as infructuous as the specified dates had passed, the High Court made it clear that the authorities must follow the provisions of the GHMC Act while issuing such closure letters. The court had specifically directed the authorities to comply with Section 533(b), supported by resolutions of the standing committee, and to issue such directions strictly in accordance with law.

The present contempt petitioner alleged that despite the specific directions, the GHMC proceeded to issue meat-shop closure directions without adhering to the procedure mandated by the Act.

HC says complaint is compulsory on allegations of custodial torture by ED or any authority

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has made it clear that with regard to allegations of custodial torture, physical assault, coercion or forcible extraction of statements by Enforcement Directorate officials or any authority, complaints have to be filed before the police station concerned or the authority. The court said that writ courts would refrain from recording findings on disputed questions of fact without an appropriate criminal complaint or FIR.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy dismissed an appeal filed by Kiran G.S., who had been summoned by the ED as part of its investigation into five FIRs registered against various celebrities, social media influencers and betting apps for allegedly cheating the public by inducing them to invest money in online betting and gaming applications and websites on the promise of huge returns.

His allegations were that he was physically assaulted and subjected to coercive treatment during his appearance before the ED's Hyderabad zonal office on April 20, 2026. He sought action against the officers concerned. Earlier, a single judge court had dismissed his plea on the ground of insufficient evidence. Kiran then filed the appeal before the division bench.

The ED denied the allegations and relied on CCTV material and photographs showing the appellant leaving the office at about 8 pm without any visible injury. It also pointed out that he had signed the register while leaving the premises.

The appellant contended that the ED had produced only select CCTV stills and had not furnished uninterrupted audio-video footage of the interrogation chamber. He argued that the non-production of the complete footage warranted an adverse inference against the agency. He also relied upon medical records to substantiate his allegation of custodial torture.

The bench noted that the allegations, if proved, could constitute criminal offences against the officials concerned. However, it observed that the appellant had not lodged a police complaint when he approached the writ court headed by a single judge on April 21, 2026, immediately after the alleged incident.

The court noted that the representation to the police was made only on June 9, 2026, through post, by which time the writ court had reserved its judgment on May 5. The bench held that if he could have filed a complaint before the police station concerned, the allegations would have been investigated and contemporaneous material, including CCTV footage, collected.

HC issued Contempt Notices to VC Sajjanar

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has issued notice to city police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar in a contempt petition filed by social media influencer and businessman Md Shanawaz Alam, alleging failure to comply with a direction to inquire into his complaint of alleged police torture.

Justice Tangirala Madhavi Devi, hearing the contempt petition, directed the commissioner to file his response by November 6.

Alam had earlier approached the High Court alleging that he was subjected to harassment and physical assault at the Bhavaninagar police station, including being beaten and having chilli powder allegedly poured into his eyes, despite no criminal case being registered against him at the time. He had claimed that no action was taken on his complaints to the police, prompting him to approach the High Court.

On August 13, the court had directed the police commissioner to examine Alam’s complaint, verify CCTV footage at the police station and ascertain whether his allegations were correct. The court specifically directed that if the allegations were found to be true, appropriate action should be taken against the erring officials in accordance with law. The High Court had also directed the authorities to preserve the CCTV footage relating to the alleged incident.

With no action initiated or no information provided on the incident, despite the court order, Alam filed the contempt petition.