Justice T. Madhavi Devi of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the Kagaznagar police of Kumurambheem Asifabad district to neither arrest nor take any coercive step against R.S. Puneeth, son of former IPS officer and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) State president R.S. Praveen Kumar in a criminal case registered against him.
The case was registered against Mr. Puneeth following a complaint by a driver, Aleem Khan, who alleged that Mr. Puneeth and others attacked him and took away ₹25,000 while he was campaigning for BRS MLA Koneru Konappa. Mr. Praveen Kumar and Koneru Konappa are contesting from Sirpur Kagaznagar Assembly constituency on BSP and BRS tickets respectively.
Mr. Praveen Kumar had been made the first accused in the case, but a single judge of the HC already granted a similar relief to the BSP president.
In a separate case, a bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anik Kumar Jukanti disposed of a writ petition filed an independent candidate contesting from Alampur Assembly constituency, seeking a direction to reject the nomination of another independent candidate, whom the petitioner accused of working as government employee while filing the nomination papers. The bench noted that it cannot interfere in the matter as process of election has begun.
The petitioner, Dr. Prasanna Kumar Repalle, contended that the nomination of the independent candidate, Vijayudu, should have been rejected as the latter was working as a field assistant at Pullur gram panchayat of Undavelly mandal. However, the Returning Officer failed to do so, the petitioner said.
