HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Friday quashed the sentence imposed by a lower court on former MP Ramesh Rathod for allegedly obstructing forest officers from carrying out their official duties.
Initially, a Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Luxettipet sentenced Rathod to two years of simple imprisonment and a Rs 3,000 fine. Following this, the former MP filed an appeal before the Additional Sessions Judge at Adilabad.
The Sessions Judge modified the sentence, quashing the jail term but increased the fine to Rs 10,000. In the event of failure to pay the fine, the accused was to undergo three months of simple imprisonment.
Challenging the verdict of the Sessions Judge, Rathod approached the High Court where he contended that he had not obstructed forest officers in performing their duties and urged the court to quash the orders of the Sessions Judge.
Following arguments presented by Rathod’s counsel, Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court quashed the sentence imposed by the lower courts.