HC orders Telangana police to stop fresh FIR against \'Telenangana Galam\'

Hyderabad: Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the Telangana police not to register any fresh FIR against the content creators and organiser of the Facebook page ‘Telangana Galam’ until further orders. The judge also directed the police not to take coercive action against the organisers of the FB page.

Justice Reddy was hearing a petition filed by Mallu Ravi, former MP and senior vice-president of the Telangana Congress, and four others including Sunil Kanugolu, seeking a direction to the police to divulge the details of pending FIRs and complaints registered against the organisers and manager of ‘Telangana Galam’ and to restrain them from registering fresh cases.

It was alleged that the organisers of the Facebook page were posting memes and political satire and critiques on the BRS government and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, leading to projecting them in a bad light.

The judge, during the course of the hearing, asked counsel for the home department, Roopender, why the police were registering multiple FIRs against ‘Telangana Galam’ personnel, when the content was the same.

The police had registered three FIRs, one each at the CCS Cybercrime, Market police and Ramgopalpet police. Justice Vijaysen Reddy gave a blanket order directing the police not to register any fresh case in this matter, until further orders.

C.V. Mohan Reddy, senior counsel, appeared for the petitioners and informed the court that the content creators, who were professionals, were hired by Mallu Ravi. They were frequently being summoned to the police station, though there was no offensive content in the videos posted on ‘Telangana Galam’. Moreover, the complainants were not from the BRS but were claiming association with the party.

Justice Vijaysen Reddy refused to stay the investigation and directed the government to file a counter affidavit.