Telangana high court dismisses smuggler’s plea

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by the timber smuggler Edla Srinivas seeking directions from the court to not book him under the Preventive Detention Act. Srinivas was arrested by the Telangana police on Tuesday.

The petitioners’ counsel told the court that Srinivas happens to be supporting the parties which are politically opposing the ruling TRS and that he was detained only to disarm the opposition parties.

More than 10 FIRs have been booked against Srinivas in the recent past. “The police and forest officials are preparing grounds to invoke the Preventive Detention Act against him to confine him to longer incarceration in jail,” the counsel told the court.

Although a single judge ordered notices to the police on the plea, he did not pass a restraining order. The bench made it clear that it cannot pass any such orders which might prevent the police from taking their own decisions.

Dismissing the plea, the bench said, “If the petitioner is aggrieved by the action or decision of the police, then the petitioner can file an appropriate petition.”