Hyderabad: In a significant legal relief to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the Telangana High Court on Thursday quashed the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case, which dates back to 2016, pertained to an alleged incident involving caste-based abuse but was formally filed in 2019.
Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya, who presided over the matter, observed that there was neither a factual nor legal basis to proceed against Revanth Reddy, who was then a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA. The FIR, registered as Crime No. 15/2015, had listed Revanth as Accused No. 3, alongside his brother Kodanda Reddy and another individual. However, the court found that Revanth was not present at the scene of the alleged incident.
The allegations were brought forth by N. Peddi Raju, the then-director of the Scheduled Caste Housing Society in Razole. He accused Revanth and others of using casteist slurs and abusing their position. Despite the complainant’s insistence on Revanth’s involvement, the court ruled that the charges were not substantiated by the evidence presented in the chargesheet.
The complainant’s counsel also mentioned a pending plea before the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the case, but Justice Bhattacharya clarified that the High Court was constitutionally obliged to deliver its judgment independently of that petition.
Revanth Reddy had approached the High Court in 2020 seeking quashing of the proceedings. With the court’s verdict, he has now been cleared of all charges in this case.
