Telangana HC Quashes Three Cases Against KTR
The three cases were registered at Nakrekal police station, Nalgonda district, alleging that Rama Rao had circulated on his social media account a news report about a purported leak of the SSC Telugu paper at TSWRS Gurukulam School, Nakrekal.
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday quashed three criminal cases filed against BRS working president and Sircilla MLA K.T. Rama Rao in connection with an alleged SSC Telugu question paper leak. Justice K. Lakshman, hearing three criminal petitions filed by the BRS leader, held that the police cannot register multiple FIRs on the same allegation. The court noted that the complaints were identical in nature and stemmed from a single incident.
The three cases were registered at Nakrekal police station, Nalgonda district, alleging that Rama Rao had circulated on his social media account a news report about a purported leak of the SSC Telugu paper at TSWRS Gurukulam School, Nakrekal. The report was telecast by a YouTube channel and a TV channel.
Appearing for Rama Rao, counsel T.V. Ramana Rao submitted that the news item in question was later found to be fake and that his client had merely shared it on his X (formerly Twitter) account without intent to mislead anyone. He argued that sharing a news report did not constitute an offence, and registering three separate FIRs amounted to harassment.
Accepting the contention, Justice Lakshman observed: “The allegation made against the petitioner in the three complaints is one and the same. Police cannot register three FIRs against the petitioner for the same offence.” Accordingly, the court quashed all three FIRs, bringing relief to Rama Rao, who was named Accused No. 2 in the cases.
