Owner Not Responsible for Activities of Tenants: High Court

Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has set aside the action of the police in sealing a residential premises allegedly linked to commercial sex trade, holding that such powers were vested with a magistrate. The court clarified that its order would not prevent the competent magistrate from initiating fresh proceedings in accordance with law, if warranted by facts.

Justice E.V. Venugopal of the High Court made it clear that only a magistrate was empowered to order closure of a premises, upon receipt of information from the police or otherwise that it was used for carrying on prostitution, to issue a showcause notice to the owner.

The judge was dealing with a writ petition filed by Alluri Sitarama Raju, who challenged the sealing and attachment of his property at Guttala Begumpet. The premises, comprising a multi-storey building with around 40 rooms, had been leased out in March 2024 to tenants operating a guest house.

According to the petitioner, a police raid conducted on August 13, 2025, led to the registration of a criminal case involving allegations of prostitution and related offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, and the Foreigners Act. The premises was sealed by the police, despite the petitioner not being named as accused and claiming no knowledge of the alleged illegal activities.

A showcause notice was issued on September 25, 2025, by the police commissioner under Section 18(1)(a) of the Act, proposing attachment of the property. The petitioner submitted an explanation denying involvement and asserting that the tenants were responsible for operations. The authorities however sealed the premises.

Justice Venugopal found that the notice had been issued by the police rather than by a magistrate, rendering the process procedurally defective. The court observed that there was no material on record to establish that the petitioner had knowledge of or had consented to the alleged activities. It reiterated that ownership of a property cannot be equated with complicity in unlawful acts carried out by tenants, particularly in the absence of evidence.

Holding that the action of the police was contrary to the statutory mandate and violative of due process, the court declared the sealing and attachment illegal and arbitrary. It directed the authorities to de-seal the premises and restore possession to the petitioner.

Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court questioned the exercise of judicial powers by the police in sentencing an accused to six months’ imprisonment for alleged breach of conditions of a bail bond.

Justice E.V. Venugopal of the High Court took up for admission a petition filed by Telpitiya Arjun Singh Jogender Singh, a 30-year-old fabrication worker from Balanagar, Medchal district, challenging the legality of an order by the Balanagar DCP, Cyberabad, acting as a special executive magistrate in directly sentencing him to imprisonment.

The petitioner said he had executed a personal bond on July 8, 2025, for `50,000 in a miscellaneous crime case for security to keep peace and good behaviour, which are preventative actions managed by the special executive magistrate, in this case the Balanagar DCP. However, taking cognisance of the registration of an FIR against him for alleged offences committed on the intervening night of July 8 and 9, 2025, the police authority remanded him to judicial custody on December 24, 2025, for alleged breach of bond conditions.

Dunna Ambedkar, counsel for the petitioner, argued that the action of the police in sending the petitioner to jail was illegal, unconstitutional, and without jurisdiction. He submitted that the DCP’s assumption of judicial powers amounted to an abuse of process, particularly in the absence of statutory backing permitting such authority.

The court sought clarification from government counsel regarding the source of authority under which the police officer exercised powers akin to that of a judicial magistrate, and adjourned the matter to March 23 for hearing.