Telangana HC stays proceedings in 2011 criminal case against KCR

Hyderabad: On Tuesday, the Telangana High Court stayed all further proceedings in the 2011 Rail Roko case registered against former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, till further orders.

A single-judge bench of Justice Bollam Vijaysen issued notices to the State, directing it to file a counter affidavit.

In the criminal petition filed by KCR, seeking to quash all proceedings in case, the judge posted the hearing to July 23 for further hearing.

Justice Vijaysen Reddy, while staying all further proceedings, said “As per the content of the chargesheet filed before the 2nd Metropolitan Magistrate for Railways at Secunderabad, it is observed that the petitioner K Chandrashekar Rao was not physically present at the place of offence viz., at Moula Ali Railway Station, where K Kavita and 39 others resorted to Rail Roko on October 15, 2011. Only if KCR is physically present at the scene of offence, can there be a crime registered against him. Initiation of criminal prosecution and registering a case against him under various sections of IPC and PDPP Act is an abuse of law.”

On the other hand, public prosecutor Palle Nageshwar Rao informed the court that at the initial stage, a chargesheet was filed against all the 40 accused, who resorted to the Rail Roko at the Moula Ali Railway station and all of them were compounded except for (A-15) KCR and (A-16) Prof Kodandaram. Both A-15 and A-16 were shown as absconding.

The judge was hearing a petition filed by KCR to quash the proceedings in the case registered against him in the 2011 Rail Roko.