Telangana HC Grants Bail in Unique Ruling
Congress leader Panthu Naik, was killed by the Maoists in 2007 while entering a temple at Maisigandi; Srinu was named as the fifth accused
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday ruled that a second bail petition was maintainable if the first one was rejected due to the prosecution submitting wrong facts.
A division bench comprising Justice K. Lakshman and Justice K. Sujana made this ruling while granting bail to Daragoni Srinu alias Vikram, a life convict in the murder of Congress leader Panthu Naik, president of Amangal mandal praja parishad.
Naik was killed by the Maoists in 2007, while he was entering a temple at Maisigandi. Srinu was named as the fifth accused. He was arrested in 2014 and has been in jail since.
The trial court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He challenged this before the High Court in 2015, and sought bail.
In September 2023, the High Court cancelled his petition, considering the details submitted by the prosecution that Srinu faced 18 cases, was acquitted in 15 and convicted in two, while a decision on one was pending.
Srinu filed an interim application for bail with the list of cases pending against him. The court found he was acquitted in 16 cases and convicted in the case that was pending in the High Court for bail.
As the prosecution furnished wrong facts, the court said that the second bail petition filed by the petitioner was maintainable and a conditional bail to Srinu. The condition included Rs 25,000 bail bond, two sureties and monthly attendance before the Amangal police. The court also took into consideration that Srinu had acquired higher educational qualifications in jail and was imparting training to others.