Telangana HC rejects candidate’s plea for information on criminal cases
HYDERABAD: Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of Telangana High Court has declined to issue a direction to the State Director General of Police (DGP) to provide information to the petitioner on criminal cases pending against him. The judge was dealing with a writ petition filed by Mandal Parameshwar Reddy, a Congress candidate of the Uppal Assembly constituency.
The petitioner sought the information regarding criminal cases pending against him to enable him to provide the same to the Election Commission, without which his nomination could be rejected.
During the hearing, the judge emphasized the need for the petitioner to demonstrate his confidence as a genuine candidate and advised him to focus on election canvassing rather than approaching the court to compel the DGP to provide information.
Justice Vijaysen Reddy’s decision to adjourn the writ petition to November 10 stems from a contention made by the petitioner’s counsel, who argued that failing to obtain this information could jeopardize Parameshwar Reddy’s nomination.
Furthermore, the judge reminded the petitioner’s counsel of a relevant case in which a senior advocate had approached the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. In that case, the senior advocate had requested that information about criminal cases pending against his client should be made available on the police website.
However, the Supreme Court had declined to issue such a direction, asserting that there could be no such directive. The apex court directed the senior advocate to identify the provision under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that allows for the disclosure of such information.
While Justice Vijaysen Reddy did not issue the requested directive, the case has raised important questions about the disclosure of criminal records of political candidates and their eligibility for elections.