Teenmaar Mallanna’s passport in jeopardy; Telangana HC asks state to respond

Hyderabad: On Friday, the Telangana High Court asked the state government to respond to a plea filed by Teenmaar Mallanna seeking security cover at his office and a stay on the notice issued to him by the regional passport officer in Secunderabad.

The single bench comprising Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy sent the notices to Telangana State home secretary, DGP, CP Rachakonda, SHO Medipally PS, K Muralidhar DCP, Special Operations Officer, LB Nagar, Maheshwaram jurisdiction, RR district and the regional passport officer (RPO) in Secunderabad directing them to respond within two weeks.

The judge was hearing the writ petition filed by Chinthapandu Naveen Kumar alias Teenmaar Mallanna, a journalist, seeking a direction to the home secretary, DGP and CP Rachakonda to provide him security cover to his office at Kubera Heights in Uppal Medchal Malkajgiri and also a direction to set aside the notice issued to him by the RPO in Secunderabad.

Sharat Kumar, counsel for the petitioner, informed the court that the police are unnecessarily harassing Teenmaar Mallanna in the name of interrogation by foisting false cases against him. He said the reason behind this harassment is because the petitioner has been telecasting the liquor scam in which K Kavita, the daughter of chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, is allegedly involved.

K Muralidhar, DCP LB Nagar, during the course of questioning, questioned how Teenmaar Mallanna still maintained a passport when such 'a huge number of cases were registered against him', and communicated the same to the RPO, who in turn issued a notice to the petitioner asking him as to why he has not divulged information about the pending cases against him.

Then Sharat Kumar informed the court that the RPO had been briefed about the criminal petitions filed by the petitioner in the High Court, challenging the criminal cases filed against him.

He said that the pendency of cases in the High Court cannot categorise him as an accused and it cannot deny him from getting a passport. The counsel further informed the court that he intends to take his ailing young son to the USA for treatment and sought a direction to stay the notice of the RPO.

Justice Bhaskar Reddy, while ordering the parties mentioned to file their replies within two weeks, directed the petitioner to file an application before a lower court, seeking permission to go out of the country, for the treatment of his ailing son.