IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT: HYDERABAD CORAM:

* HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN + CRIMINAL PETITION No.5823 OF 2025 % Delivered on: 01-08-2025 Between # Mr. A. Revanth Reddy .. Petitioner Vs.

$ The State of Telangana, rep.by its Public Prosecutor & another .. Respondents ! For Petitioner : Mr. T. Niranjan Reddy, Learned Senior Counsel ^ For Respondent No.1 : Public Prosecutor ^ For Respondent No.2 : Mr. Devineni Vijay Kumar < Gist : > Head Note : ? Cases Referred :

1. (2014) 9 SCC 1

15. 2024 SCC OnLine Del 6005

2. (2006) 7 SCC 1

16. (2016) 7 SCC 221 3. (2023) 15 SCC 401 17. (1981) 3 SCC 208 4. (2023) 15 SCC 443

18. 1968 SCC OnLine Del 117

5. 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335

19. (2012) 5 SCC 424 6. (1977) 2 SCC 699 20. (2013) 14 SCC 44 7. (1998) 5 SCC 749 21. (1976) 3 SCC 736 8. (2018) 1 SSC 615

22. 2022 SCC OnLine Mad 9151

9. 2023 SCC OnLine All 14

23. (2001) 6 SCC 30

10. 2018 SCC OnLine Guj 209 24. 1977 SCC OnLine Bom 146

11. 2019 SCC OnLine HP 721

25. 1983 SCC OnLine Mad 486 12. 2024 SCC OnLine Del 719 26. 2008 SCC OnLine Kar 625

13. (1972) 2 SCC 680

27. 2024 SCC OnLine TS 13

14. MANU/TL/0179/2024

28. 2021 SCC OnLine Mad 5317

29. (2012) 12 SCC 72 HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN CRIMINAL PETITION No.5823 OF 2025

ORDER

1. The present Criminal Petition is filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Surakhsa Sanhita (hereinafter ‘BNSS’) to quash the proceedings in C.C. No. 312 of 2024 by setting aside the order dated 23.08.2024 in the said C.C. passed by Principal Special Judicial First-Class Magistrate for Excise Cases at Hyderabad (hereinafter ‘Trial Court’).

2. Heard Mr. T. Niranjan Reddy, learned Senior Counsel representing Mr. T.

Bala Mohan Reddy, learned Counsel for the Petitioner - Accused, Mr. Devineni Vijay Kumar, learned Senior Counsel representing Ms. Hamsa Devineni, learned Counsel for Respondent No.2 - Complainant and the learned Public Prosecutor.

3. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

3.1. The Petitioner herein is the Chief Minister for the State of Telangana and is a member of the Indian National Congress, a national political party. Respondent No. 2 (hereinafter ‘the Complainant’) is the Bharatiya Janata Party (Telangana) represented by its General Secretary Mr. Kasam Venkateshwarlu. It claims to be the State Unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, also a national political party.

3.2. Respondent No. 2 had filed a complaint dated 10.05.2024 under Sections

199 and 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter ‘CrPC’) against the Petitioner alleging that the Petitioner delivered an ‘illegal, false, defamatory and provocative’ speech against Respondent No.2 on

04.05.2024.

3.3. The following excerpts of the speech, according to the Complainant, are defamatory and promotes enmity:

- ‘BJP government will abolish all SC, ST and BC reservations - ‘I have been saying, if we give 400 seats to BJP, they will change the constitution, they will abolish reservations, that’s why they are asking for 400 seats’

- ‘there is a conspiracy to cancel SC, ST, BC reservations for Dalits, tribals and weaker sections’

- ‘BJP is planning to change the constitution, your constitution is going to be abolished’

- ‘the reservations you are being given are going to be cancelled’

- ‘if you vote for BJP today, our reservations are going to be abolished’

- ‘BJP national general secretary, a person called Dushyant Kumar Guatham said in an interview yesterday that as soon as BJP forms government, we will change the preamble in the constitution, we will change the constitution’

- ‘what I have been saying from so many days, the allegations I made, your BJP national general secretary, Dushyant Kumar Guatham, has said clearly and in his official capacity, that as soon as BJP forms government, we will change the constitution’

- ‘I am asking the highly learned Kishan Reddy, your general secretary is saying that we will change the constitution right…’

- ‘now you decide if you should be beaten for telling lies or your general secretary should be beaten for saying we will change the constitution’

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