K. Amarshwar & Ors. vs State Of Telangana & Anr.

This Criminal Petition has been filed by the petitioners/accused Nos.1, 2, 4 to 7, 11 to 24, seeking to quash the proceedings in Crime No.176 of 2025 of Midgil Police Station, Mahaboobnagar District, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 329 (3), 324 (4), 352 and 351 (3) r/w. 189 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (for short 'the BNS').

Heard Mr.Jillela Rajeshwar Rao, learned counsel for the petitioners, and Mr.Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, appearing for respondent No.1.

With the consent of both the learned counsel, the criminal petition is disposed of at the stage of admission.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners have not committed the alleged offences and have been falsely implicated in the present case. The allegations levelled in the complaint are purely civil in nature. He further submitted that petitioner No.1 and eight others filed a suit in O.S.No.159 of 2019 against respondent No.2 and five others on the file of the learned Judge, Family Court-cum-VIII Additional District Judge, Mahabubnagar, seeking a decree of perpetual injunction. In the said suit, the learned trial Court in I.A.No.371 of 2019, granted an ad interim injunction and, in I.A.No.113 of 2020, granted police protection. Hence, the question of trespassing into the property of respondent No.2, as alleged in the complaint, does not arise. Respondent No.2 filed the present complaint only with an intention to settle the civil disputes pending before the competent Civil Court, and the same is a clear abuse of the process of law.

Per contra, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that there are specific allegations levelled against the petitioners that they highhandedly entered into the property of respondent No.2 with tractors and JCB machines and damaged the crop. Whether the allegations levelled in the complaint are true or not the same has to be revealed during the course of investigation, especially when the investigation is still in progress. The Investigating Officer has recorded the statements of LWs.1 to 3. However, since the offences alleged against the petitioners are punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years, the Investigating Officer intends to follow the procedure contemplated under Section 35(3) of the BNSS and the guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar (supra). However, the petitioners are avoiding receipt of notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS and are not cooperating with the investigation from the date of registration of the crime, i.e., 26.07.2026.

This Court considered the rival submissions made by the respective parties and perused the material available on record. It is not in dispute that civil disputes are pending between the petitioners and respondent No.2 and a civil suit in O.S.No.159 of 2019 is pending before the competent Civil Court, wherein the Civil Court was pleased to grant an ad interim injunction and also police protection. The specific case of respondent No.2 is that the petitioners trespassed into his property with a tractors and JCB machines. Whether the allegations levelled in the complaint are true or not the same has to be revealed during the course of investigation. The record further reveals that the offences levelled against the petitioners are punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years. Even according to the learned Additional Public Prosecutor, the Investigating Officer intends to follow the procedure contemplated under Section 35(3) of the BNSS and also the guidelines formulated by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar (supra).

In view of the above, the Investigating Officer is directed to follow the procedure as contemplated under Section 35(3) of the BNSS and follow the guidelines formulated by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar (supra). It is needless to mention that the petitioners are entitled to put forth their grievance by raising all the pleas which are available to them and they are also entitled to submit the documents, if any, which are in their custody, to the Investigating Officer, including copies of complaint, injunction order and police protection order.

Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is disposed of.

Miscellaneous applications, pending if any, shall stand closed.