IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE E.V.VENUGOPAL WRIT PETITION No.5414 of 2026 DATED : 08-04-2026 Between :

Mohammed Zaker Hussain.

… Petitioner.

And The State of Telangana, Rep. by its Principal Secretary, Home Department, Telangana State Secretariat, Hyderabad, Telangana – 500 022 and others.

… Respondents.

ORDER :

The present writ petition is filed by the petitioner under Article

226 of the Constitution of India, seeking the following relief :

“…to declare the action of the respondent police officials in forcibly taking and illegally retaining the petitioner's mobile phone and subjecting the petitioner to unlawful detention as arbitrary, illegal and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, direct the respondents to immediately return the petitioner's mobile phone, direct the respondents to preserve and produce the CCTV footage of Begumpet Police Station pertaining to the relevant date and time of the incident before this Hon'ble Court and direct the respondents not to harass the petitioner except in accordance with due process of law.…”

2. Heard Sri Mohammad Imtiyaz Pasha, learned counsel for the petitioner, who appeared on-line and Sri M.Srinivas, learned Assistant Government Pleader, representing Sri Mahesh Raje, learned Government Pleader for Home.

3. The petitioner is a small businessman running a Xerox/printing shop and is dependent on his mobile phone for business operations, communication and digital transactions. He had earlier filed W.P.No.4320 of 2026 against the respondent police for inaction, due to which the police developed animosity against him. On 17.02.2026, the petitioner was called to Begumpet Police Station by the police officials and was threatened with arrest if he failed to appear. Out of fear of public humiliation, he attended the police station, where he was questioned without being informed of any complaint or FIR. During this time, the police forcibly took his mobile phone without any legal procedure, documentation or acknowledgment and he was unlawfully detained for about three hours. Although he was later allowed to leave, his mobile phone was not returned. His representation to higher authorities yielded no response. No FIR, notice or lawful procedure was followed, making the detention and seizure illegal. (a) The petitioner submits that the actions of the police are arbitrary, violate Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and are contrary to established legal principles. The illegal retention of his mobile phone has severely affected his livelihood and he apprehends further harassment, leaving him with no alternative remedy except approaching this Court.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner, appearing online, submits that the mobile phone of the petitioner, which was taken by the respondent police during the course of investigation, has now been returned. In view of the same, the cause of action in the present writ petition no longer survives. Accordingly, it is prayed that this Court may be pleased to dismiss the writ petition as infructuous.

5. The learned Assistant Government Pleader, basing on the written instructions submitted by the Sub-Inspector of Police, Begumpet Police Station, dated 31.03.2026, submits that the allegations made by the petitioner are incorrect and misleading. It is submitted that the petitioner was called to the police station only in connection with a complaint received against him and during the course of enquiry, he voluntarily handed over his mobile phone for verification. There was no unlawful detention or forcible seizure as alleged. It is further submitted that after completion of enquiry, the matter was found to be civil in nature and the complaint was accordingly closed. The mobile phone of the petitioner has already been returned to him under proper acknowledgment. In view of the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the mobile phone has been received and the cause d