HC Rejects Bail to BRS Party Activist, Who Was Arrested in a Case of POCSO Act

Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has refused bail to BRS activist Mohammed Ghouse, arrested at Khammam and charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor and throwing her from the top of an apartment building in Khammam. The accused has been in jail from June 9, and the trial is pending before a fast-track court.

Ghouse approached the High Court for bail on the grounds that the investigation was complete and the chargesheet filed. He argued that the question of tampering with the evidence did not arise, if he would be released on bail.

He submitted to the court that he was falsely implicated in the case with ulterior motives and malafide intent as he had actively participated in BRS activities. He also submitted that the Principal Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Khammam had recorded the statement of the victim under Section 183 of BNSS wherein the victim did not state anything against him.

Justice B.R. Madhusudhan Rao dismissed the petition, observing that serious allegations had been levelled against Ghouse and that the trial schedule had been fixed. The court observed that in serious Pocso cases, mere completion of investigation or filing of a chargesheet did not automatically entitle an accused to bail. The court noted that granting bail mechanically without considering the victim’s statement, medical evidence and the potential for post-bail intimidation would render any bail order perverse and legally unsustainable.

“Under the Pocso Act, once the investigation reaches the fag end or the chargesheet is filed, the accused is not automatically entitled to bail unless the court is satisfied that the victim will be completely safe and free from coercion”, Justice Rao said, while dismissing the bail petition.

Justice Vinod Kumar repatriation to Telangana HC

Hyderabad:The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended the repatriation of Justice T. Vinod Kumar, Judge of the Madras High Court, to the Telangana High Court, his parent court. The Supreme Court took the decision in view of his ensuing retirement on November 16, 2026. Justice Kumar was relieved from the Telangana High Court on July 31, 2025, after he was transferred to the Madras High Court. If the collegiums recommendation is approved, Justice Kumar would return to the Telangana High Court more than 14 months.

SC reaffirms study of four consecutive years preceding the qualifying exam for Telangana local status

Hyderabad:The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that students must have studied in Telangana for four consecutive years immediately preceding the qualifying examination to claim the status of a local candidate for admission to MBBS and other undergraduate medical courses under the state quota.

A bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe on Monday dismissed a special leave petition filed by Jella Ankita challenging the Telangana High Court`s orders in rejecting her request to be considered as a local candidate.

Ankita had studied from kindergarten to Class X in Telangana, but pursued Intermediate education in Andhra Pradesh until April 2025. She sought local-candidate status for admission to undergraduate medical courses for the 2026-27 academic year, relying on GO Ms. No. 124 dated August 30, 2018, which permitted consideration of the maximum period of education within seven years for determining local status for employment in State government organisations.

The petitioner contended that denying her local status merely because she had studied in Andhra Pradesh for the two years immediately preceding the qualifying examination was arbitrary. She argued that the situation left her without local status in either Telangana or Andhra Pradesh despite being a native of Telangana.

The Telangana High Court rejected her contention, holding that the issue was governed by the finality attached to the rules contained in GO Ms. No. 114 dated July 5, 2017, as upheld by the Supreme Court, and the subsequent amendment through GO Ms. No. 33 dated July 19, 2024.

The High Court had held that the petitioner could not rely on GO Ms. No.124 of 2018 to seek a different method of determining local status for medical admissions by counting seven years of education instead of the prescribed four consecutive years. The Supreme Court, after hearing the petitioner’s counsel, found no reason to interfere with the High Court’s order and dismissed the SLP.

SC Collegium Recommends Telangana HC CJ Aparesh Kumar Singh, Two Others for Elevation to Apex Court

Hyderabad:The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended elevation of Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh as Judge of the Supreme Court of India. The collegium also recommended the elevation of Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya as judges of the apex court.

In a meeting held on Monday, the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has recommended elevation of the three Chief Justices of the High Courts to the apex court.

The proposed elevation of Justice A.P. Singh to the Supreme Court would continue a remarkable family legacy in the judiciary. He comes from a family that has produced several distinguished Supreme Court judges, including his maternal great grandfather Justice Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha, the sixth Chief Justice of India. His maternal uncle Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and his mother`s cousin Justice Bisheshwar Prasad Singh also served as judges of the Supreme Court. Justice A.P. Singh’s relative, Justice Shambhu Prasad Singh, had served as acting Chief Justice of the Patna High Court.

Justice A.P. Singh was born on July 7, 1965, and completed his BA (Honours) and LLB at Delhi University and enrolled as an advocate in 1990. He practised at the Patna High Court from 1990 to 2000 and subsequently at the Jharkhand High Court from 2001 until his elevation to the bench. He was appointed Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court in 2012, and made a permanent judge on January 16, 2014. He became Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court in April 2023 and was transferred as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 19, 2025.

FW: HC directs Guru Nanak college to refund the fee collected from the student

Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has directed the Guru Nanak Homeopathic Medical College to refund `3.32 lakh in tuition fee to a student whose admission was cancelled after the authorities found that her NEET score was below the prescribed cut-off. The court faulted the college for decling to refund the fee even after the student`s admission got cancelled.

The court observed that the student should not be made to suffer financially for an admission initially allotted by the university itself.

Justice Juvvadi Sridevi was dealing with a writ petition filed by Done Shabari Priya, who had been allotted a seat under the management quota in the college by the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences through an allotment letter dated October 27, 2025. Acting on the allotment, she paid the tuition fee of `3.32 lakh and was permitted to join the course.

The university subsequently cancelled her admission through proceedings dated January 23, 2026, on the ground that she had secured 128 marks in NEET against the required 144 marks. The petitioner contended that since the university itself had allotted the seat and permitted her to take admission, she should not be made to bear the financial consequences of any mistake committed by the authorities in granting the allotment.

Justice Sridevi held that the cancellation of admission, irrespective of its justification, could not result in unjust enrichment of the institution by retaining the tuition fee for a seat which the student was ultimately not permitted to continue.