Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Monday reserved orders on a writ petition filed by former MLA Patnam Narender Reddy, seeking quashing of the case registered against him at the Bomraspet police station for allegedly inciting violence at Lagcherla.
He argued that multiple FIRs for the same offence were impermissible and violated Supreme Court rulings, including TT Antony vs State of Kerala, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah vs CBI and Amish Devgan vs Union of India.
T Rajnikanth Reddy, Additional Advocate General, contended that while the petitioner had already been arrested in FIR No. 153/2024, the incidents cited in FIR Nos. 154/2024 and 155/2024 occurred on different dates. He argued that the FIRs could be clubbed, but separate complaints were necessary due to the distinct incidents.
Justice Lakshman questioned the legal basis for registering multiple FIRs for what appeared to be the same offence. The judge took serious note of the lackadaisical approach of the police, who filed FIRs without proper written complaints.
The judge scrutinised the three FIRs and noted that while the complainants were different, their content was identical. One complaint was filed by an MRO regarding an alleged attack on an RDO by farmers, while another was lodged by the DSP concerned. However, both complaints were prepared by the police station’s writer, who merely altered dates, accused names, and locations, leaving the primary content unchanged.
Justice Lakshman criticised the apparent negligence, remarking in Hindi, “Naqal karne ko bhi akal ki zaroorat hai” (even to copy, one requires some sense). The judge observed that the complainants, despite being educated, delegated the drafting of their complaints to the station writer, who failed to tailor them appropriately. After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Lakshman reserved his judgment.