Hyderabad: As directed, the forest officials of Warangal Range and Mahbubabad police on Friday produ-ced 15 tribals before the Telangana High Court. During the hearing, the court interacted with the tribals about their survival and whereabouts.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Shameem Akther was dealing with a habeas corpus petition (to bring a person to court) alleging that the tribals had been illegally confined and detained by forest officials with help from the police to dispossess them of their habitat, where they had been residing since the time of their forefathers. Justice Shameem Akther asked one of the tribals if they had been in detention since July 4. After the interaction, the bench concluded that the tribals were not detained.
Counsel for the petitioner said that the forest officials had confined the tribals in their own village, while earlier they would shift their detainees to other locations.
