Temple row: Telangana HC quashes proceedings against Khairatabad MLA

Telangana: Telangana High Court on Friday quashed the proceedings against Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender. Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order after hearing the Criminal Petition filed by Danam Nagender seeking to quash the chargesheet filed by the Banjara Hills Police Station.

Police had accused Danam Nagender, who was the Labour Minister in the Congress government of trespassing into Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Banjara Hills in 2012 with his henchmen. Police had said he even locked the gates of the temple when a lady devotee and two pujaris were present. Later Manager of the temple approached Banjara Hills Police and registered a criminal case against Danam Nagender and three others under section 143, 353, 427, and 504 of IPC. Police, after completing the investigation, filed the chargesheet in 2022.

The endowment department handed over the 4.3 acres of land to the ISKON for the development of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Banjara Hills, which was the cause of the dispute. D. Nagender questioned, handing over precious land to ISKON for development. D. Nagender and his henchmen allegedly entered the temple after locking the temple gates. It resulted in a law and order problem. D. Nagender and his men even obstructed the police from performing their duty.

Later, with the intervention of the local elders and well-wishers, there was a compromise between D. Nagender and the de facto complainant K. Suryanarayana, manager of the temple. After going through the compromise petition the court quashed the proceedings stating that the case pertains to 2012. The court said police have already investigated the case, and filed the chargesheet. Moreover, the punishment for the offences committed by the petitioners is a maximum of 2 years