IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HON’BLE SMT. JUSTICE TIRUMALA DEVI EADA CRIMINAL PETITION No.1382 OF 2019 Date: 28.04.2026 Between:

Chavan Dharmendar and others … Petitioners/

Accused Nos.1 to 3 AND The State of Telangana, rep. by its Public Prosecutor, through Senior Executive Officer, CID, TS, Hyderabad High Court for the state of Telangana, Hyderabad and others … Respondents ::ORDER::

This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners – accused Nos.1 to 3 seeking to quash the proceedings in FIR No.01 of 2019 on the file of CID, Telangana State (TS), Hyderabad, registered for the offences under Sections 464, 420, 120-B of IPC and Section 3(2) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

2. Brief facts of the case are that the complainant, M/s.Hritasha Infra Projects Pvt. Limited, is a small-scale industry predominantly promoted by SC women entrepreneurs, and it was promoted on 13.04.2006 with six members as shareholders. The company has been a customer of SBI since 2010, which extended certain credit facilities against the secured mortgage of properties valued at Rs. 7.00 crores. It is their case that, due to volatile and highly unfavorable market conditions, the company’s account became NPA in November 2016, and the company became sick. The company incurred a capital loss of Rs.2.00 crores in the year 2012–13; however, it repaid a term loan of Rs.2.90 crores without seeking a single rupee of concession or relief from the bank. After the account of the company was declared as NPA, the promoters paid Rs. 45 lakhs to the bank with a view to regularizing the account. Though they had been regularly servicing the debt from 2010 to 2017, they were allegedly subjected to caste-based discrimination by certain bank officials, who committed offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Further, it is alleged that the petitioners committed offences of criminal breach of trust and fabrication of documents. The petitioners/accused are stated to have furnished false and frivolous information to higher authorities, thereby causing the superior officers to use their lawful power to cause injury or annoyance to the promoters of the company, thus attracting the offence under Section Q of Chapter II of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. It is further alleged that the petitioners paved the way to institute false and malicious legal proceedings on the basis of fabricated documents, thereby attracting the ingredients under Section P of Chapter II of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

3. It is also alleged that the accused imposed an economic boycott against the entrepreneurs of small enterprises, as defined under Section ZC of Chapter II of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The promoters of the company are stated to have repeatedly requested the bank for a period of two years and three months (from November 2016) to implement a rehabilitation package, but the bank failed to consider the same, while extending such packages to the thousands of sick units owned by higher-caste influential entrepreneurs. It is specifically alleged that, in the IDPL Branch of SBI, for OZONE Systems, which is owned by higher-caste influential entrepreneurs, was extended the rehabilitation package twice with substantial discounts, concessions, and reliefs. It is alleged that the bank should invariably extend the revival and rehabilitation package to sick units in accordance with the RBI guidelines, vide Circular Nos. RPCD.No.PLNFS.BC.57/06.04.01/2001-2002 dated 16.01.2002, FIDD.MSME & NFS.BC.No.21/06.02.31/2015-16 dated 17.03.2016, and SBI’s internal guidelines vide Circular No. NBG/SMEBU-MSMED ACT/99/2016-17 dated 31.03.2017. Despite repeated requests made by the de facto complainant, the petitioners failed to extend the rehabi