VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court (APHC) strongly criticised the police over YSRCP leader Turaka Kishore’s arrest and remand, calling it a violation of legal procedures.
The bench mentioned that there was preliminary evidence of an unlawful arrest and hence it asserted, “No person should remain in custody even for a moment if detained illegally.”
It ordered Kishore’s immediate release and advised police to approach the Supreme Court if they disagreed.
The remarks came during a habeas corpus hearing filed by Kishore’s wife, Turaka Surekha, who alleged her husband was illegally detained by Rentachintala police after his release from Guntur jail.
The court had earlier asked police to submit all related case records, which were reviewed on Wednesday.
The bench slammed the magistrate’s role in the remand, questioning, “Is remand imposed just because a bail petition wasn’t filed? Are other aspects not considered?”
It also pointed to inconsistencies, noting the magistrate’s order did not mention the police claim that Kishore refused the remand report.
The court remarked, “If you claim he’s a hardened criminal, would he simply admit to all crimes and sign a confession? What are these contradictory arguments?”
Raising concerns over case timing, the bench questioned, “If an incident happened six years ago, would you register a case and arrest him now?” and accused police of a deliberate targeting pattern.
Government special public prosecutor T Vishnuteja said Kishore faces multiple attempt-to-murder charges, to which the court retorted sarcastically, “Even we can be booked for attempt to murder. Filing such cases has become easy these days.”
The bench allowed Surekha’s counsel, Sanepalli Ramalakshmana Reddy, to amend the main petition challenging the remand.
A supplementary petition was filed and scheduled for further hearing on Thursday.
The court reiterated its order for Kishore’s release, adding it would not consider other cases in this matter.