IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA

AT HYDERABAD

THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA

WRIT PETITION No.16204 of 2025

03.12.2025

Between:

The Society of Trustees of Indigenous Churches

in India, Regd No.114 of 1971,

Rep. by its President B.Bhima alias Bro Barnabas,

H.No.1-1-574, Hebron Church, Golconda Cross Roads,

Musheerabad, Hyderabad, Telangana

…Petitioner

AND

The Dy.Inspector General of Police,

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),

CBI Office KendriyaSadan, 3^rd floor, Sultan Bazar Road, Badi chowdi,

Kachiguda, Hyderabad and 24 others

…Respondents

ORDER:

The petitioner is challenging the action of respondent Nos.1 and 2 for

not registering a complaint dated 19.05.2025 and not conducting an inquiry into alleged fraudulent activities. The petitioner claims this violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and seeks a direction to register the crime and conduct thorough enquiry on the fraudulent activities of the

respondents.

2. Heard Sri G.Sushanth Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri T.Srujan Kumar Reddy, learned Special Public Prosecutor for CBI and Sri K.Sai Sri Harsha, learned counsel for respondent Nos.3, 8, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19 and 20. Perused the record.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is the Senior Pastor of Hebron Church Headquarters for the past 21 years, managing church administration, community activities, and protection of church properties across India, and holds valid identity documents, with church property records updated by the Telangana Government in 2020. The Society of Trustees of Indigenous Churches in India, registered under Reg.No.114 of 1971, is governed by eight original members as per bylaws last amended in 1980, permitting no new members without governing body approval and levying no membership fee. It is alleged that an unauthorized person, Ragi Veerachari (Respondent No.3), with a criminal background, created an unregistered society with a similar name using fabricated documents, opened bank accounts with false authorization dated 11.12.2013, and misused society funds for personal gain. The petitioner society owns valuable properties and 51 affiliated churches, and to prevent alienation of these assets, the petitioner registered a hereditary society in 2019 and initiated multiple civil proceedings, all of which, along with related writ petitions and suits filed by both sides, are presently pending before competent courts, and seeks registration of crime based on the complaint dated 19.05.2025 for investigation into the alleged fraudulent activities.

4. Learned counsel for respondent No.1 filed a counter affidavit stating that the complaint dated 19.05.2025 was scrutinized by the CBI and closed on 27.05.2025, as the allegations therein did not disclose a case warranting a CBI probe. It is further stated that the petitioner, in the present writ petition, has mentioned that four criminal cases have been registered against respondent No.3 on allegations of creating forged documents on behalf of the original public society bearing Regd. No.114/1971. It is also stated that Writ Petition No.7966 of 2025, dated 13.03.2025, seeking “new governing body amendment,” is pending before this Court. Learned counsel further submitted that the manpower available with the CBI is limited and that the agency is already overburdened with important cases under investigation. Hence, it is contended that the writ petition is devoid of merits and is liable to be dismissed.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submits that the Writ Petition No.7966 of 2025, dated 13.03.2025 was disposed of by this Court on 02.12.2025 with a direction to the respondent No.3 therein to consider the representation dated 17.01.2025 filed by the petitioner and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law within four (04) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the Order.

6. Consideration the submissions made by both the learned counsel and a perusal of the record, this Court finds t