Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan of the Telangana High Court has halted all proceedings against Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender in a trespass case dating back to 2012.
Nagender, who was then the labour minister in the Congress government, had barged inside the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Banjara Hills in 2012 with his henchmen and locked its gates while a female devotee and two pujaris were still inside. Stone-pelting followed, and the MLA was accused of preventing the police from doing their duty.
Following investigation, the Banjara Hills police registered a criminal case against Nagender and three others Sections 143, 353, 427, and 504 of the IPC following a complaint by the manager of the temple. The police filed a chargesheet in 2022 after concluding investigation.
The disagreement arose when the Endowments department gave the ISKCON temple 4.3 acres of land to establish the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Banjara Hills. Nagender questioned the rationale behind giving such valuable property to ISKCON.
Subsequently, Nagender and the de facto complainant K. Suryanarayana, reached a resolution with the help of elders and well-wishers, and a copy of the compromise petition was also sent to the court. Justice Bhuyan reviewed the compromise petition and ordered a halt to all proceedings against the MLA.