IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE TIRUMALA DEVI EADA CRIMINAL PETITION No.1047 OF 2025 DATE: 23-01-2026 Between:

Sameer Vinod Shah and four others … Petitioners And The State of Telangana, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, Through Sub-Inspector, PS Gachibowli, High Court for the State of Telangana, at Hyderabad and another ... Respondents

ORDER

This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners-accused Nos.2 to

5 and 8 seeking to quash the proceedings against them in Crime No.69 of 2025 of Gachibowli Police Station, Cyberabad, registered for the offences under Sections 420, 419 and 426 I.P.C.

2. Heard Sri Kallakuri Sharat Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for respondent No.1-State and Sri Pasham Mohith, learned counsel for respondent No.2.

3. The case of respondent No.2-de facto complainant is that he is the Director of M/s. Rockhopper Renewables (India) Private Limited (for short, ‘the Company’); that the said Company is engaged in the business of generation of electricity from solar energy; that they have purchased 100% shareholding of the Company; and that in the year 2016, the Company engaged M/s. AEG Green Power India Private Limited (for short, ‘AEG’) as their Asset Management Company and also engaged M/s. Oriano Clean Energy Private Limited for services in designing, engineering, installation and commissioning of the plant and thereby, entered into a Letter of Intent, dated 28.06.2017, with petitioner No.5-M/s. Oriano Clean Energy Private Limited. While so, in and around 2019, it was brought to the notice of the said Company that AEG has been misusing its position and was operating their bank accounts without consent and further, in collusion with various third parties, including M/s. Oriano Clean Energy Private Limited and M/s.PNC Trading Company Private Limited, it has been siphoning money from their bank accounts in a fraudulent manner. Thus, the Company has terminated AEG as the Asset Management Company and since August, 2019, none of the representatives of the AEG are on the Board of Directors of the Company. While so, the Company received a legal notice, dated 02.04.2024, wherein M/s. Oriano Clean Energy Private Limited demanded money based on fabricated documents created in collusion with AEG. It is alleged that the accused working in M/s. Oriano Clean Energy Private Limited, have created back dated agreements by impersonation, fabrication, cheating and breach of trust and caused wrongful loss to the Company. Hence, the present complaint is filed by respondent No.2.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that respondent No.2-de facto complainant has raised false allegations to cover up his lacunae and that the petitioners are innocent and have never committed any such fraudulent acts as alleged by the de facto complainant. He further submitted that petitioner Nos.1 to 4 are holding different positions in M/s. Oriano Clean Energy Private Limited and some of them are Ex-Directors of the said Company, having good reputation in the society. He further submitted that launching of criminal prosecution based on false allegations would cause huge loss to the petitioners in the society. He further submitted that the transactions are purely civil in nature and no criminal flavour can be added to them. He further submitted that the erstwhile Directors, in order to avoid outstanding due amounts, sold their 100% share- holding and all the Directors of the Company were accordingly changed on 05.09.2024 and replaced with the de facto complainant and one Sri Ananth Nakirikati. The new Director (de facto complainant) has no knowledge about the transactions nor he was present at the time of transactions between the parties and has resorted to file false criminal proceedings against the petitioners. He further submitted that for establishing the offence of cheating, the de facto complainant has to show th