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The Hyderabad police registered a case on Saturday, May 16 over alleged false news being circulated, claiming attempts to influence the judge hearing the anticipatory bail plea of Bandi Bageerath, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar. The case was filed based on a complaint from Telangana High Court Registrar BS Chiranjeevi.
Bageerath had been absconding since an FIR was registered against him on May 8 under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. An anticipatory bail petition was filed on his behalf in the Telangana High Court, with his lawyer telling the court that Bageerath would appear before the police for questioning if granted interim protection from arrest.
On the second day of the plea hearing on May 15, Justice T Madhavi Devi refused to grant interim protection, saying she hadn’t gone through the victim’s statement recorded by the police and other material in detail. Bageerath was arrested the next day.
Before the hearing commenced on May 15, Justice Madhavi Devi mentioned a “smear campaign” against her on social media, condemning attempts to try to intimidate judges. She also asked senior advocate and YSRCP MP S Niranjan Reddy who was representing Bageerath, as well as the victim’s mother’s counsel and the public prosecutor if they had any problem with her hearing the case, offering to recuse herself if they had any objection.
The FIR by the Charminar police was registered against unknown persons under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 353 for allegedly circulating false information with intent to promote ill will, and section 267 for alleged intentional insult or interruption of a public servant conducting a judicial proceeding.
The Registrar stated in his complaint that “concocted news” was circulated on social media on May 14, claiming that there were attempts to influence Justice Madhavi Devi to grant anticipatory bail to Bageerath, with the promise that her husband, advocate T Hanumantha Reddy, would be appointed as the chairman of the Telangana State Bar Council.
The “concocted news… is widely circulated, and read by judges, advocates and the general public thereby tarnishing the image of the judiciary,” the complaint said.
Meanwhile, on May 15, an ad-interim injunction was passed by the Hyderabad City Civil Court directing media houses to ‘remove and delete all the posts from all media platforms’ involving Bandi Sanjay in connection with the media coverage of the case.