HYDERABAD: Expressing its dissatisfaction with the government counsel for failure to serve required copies regarding detenues, a division bench of Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the State police to produce all the three detenues - D Devendra, M Swapna, both belonging to Chaitanya Mahila Sangam, and M Sandeep, general secretary of Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika, before the court on Friday for recording their statements.
The bench was passing this order on the habeas corpus petition filed by Anitha, government teacher and president of Chaitanya Mahila Sangam, Warangal, seeking directions to the police to produce the detenues in the court.
Petitioner's counsel V Raghunath urged the court to issue directions to the authorities concerned to produce all the detenues, who included two women activists, before the court and to record their statements.
In fact, the police are implicating the detenues in false cases and subjecting them to illegal detention and physical torture on baseless allegations that they are working against the interest of the state. The detenues were produced before the judicial magistrate after 24 hours and they were not allowed to meet their family and friends, he pointed out.
Disputing with the above submissions, special government counsel S Santhosh Kumar told the court that the detenues were arrested in the capital city on Wednesday and are now under judicial custody and cannot be produced as prayed by the petitioner. Alleging that the detenues have links with the Maoists, he refused to provide a copy of the counter affidavit to the petitioner’s counsel saying that the offences are serious and the material is confidential.
The bench directed the police to produce the detenues before it on Friday for recording their statements, and adjourned the case hearing.