Hyderabad: Justice N. Tukaramji of the Telangana High Court on Friday discharged 18 accused in the Bhongir sex trafficking case. The judge allowed revision petitions filed by the accused challenging an order of the assistant sessions court, Bhongir, which had earlier dismissed their application for discharge. The prosecution said that the petitioner was running a prostitution racket in her house at Ganeshnagar, Yadadri, and that she bought each girl for Rs 40,000. It was also alleged that the petitioner was aware of the other members of Dommari community giving injections to expedite puberty of the girls and that the accused had an intention of rearing the minors for prostitution. It was the case of the accused that there was no material evidence in the chargesheet to establish any of the ingredients of alleged offences and an examination of Section 164 statements of the girl does not reveal any complaint of sexual abuse, harassment or physical exploitation and instead presents a normal and healthy childhood and that at the time of the arrest and alleged rescue of the minors there was no other person such as brothel owner or a customer at the scene of offence. It was contended by the accused that there are no eyewitnesses, circumstantial witnesses or documentary facts that petitioner/accused was running a brothel, living off the earnings of prostitution or had procured, attempted to procure the children, or that the children were taken from place to place or caused or induced the children to carry on prostitution and that there is no medical evidence in the chargesheet that the child was subjected to sexual abuse. The judge after perusing the materials on record allowed the criminal revision and discharged the accused.
Approach Customs for gold: HC
A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court refused to declare the action of Customs officials in not releasing 158.8gm of gold in favour of Geethala Reddy, Prasad Reddy and others as illegal. The gold was seized from them when they crossed the ‘green channel’ of the customs without declaring that they were carrying more than the permitted quantity of gold. It was pointed out that the petitioners had not filed an application for the release of the gold as required under Section 110 A of the Customs Act. The bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice N. Tukaramji directed the petitioners to make an application in accordance with law and directed the appropriate authority to consider it.
HC questions MHA on widow pension
Justice S. Nanda of the Telangana High Court required the Union ministry of home affairs to inform the court how the pension to a widow could be granted not from the date it was due but from the date of such application. The judge was dealing with a writ plea filed by Puchakayala Pushpa Veni complaining that the Union home ministry’s freedom fighters division had to pay her pension for 51 months but had failed to do so. Her husband died in 2018, but her pension was sanctioned only from December 2022 when she had submitted her application. The judge adjourned the matter for the Union government to respond.
Encroached road: HC gives GHMC 4 weeks
Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court on Friday directed GHMC to take a fresh look into an alleged illegal encroachment at Humayunnagar, Mehdipatnam, in the city. The judge was dealing with a contempt case filed by Mohd. Sajjad Hussain Shujath Hussain, who alleged inaction on the part of the civic body and contended that it was willful disobedience of the order of the court. Earlier, the court had directed GHMC to consider his representations within six weeks and pass appropriate orders after giving due notice to the unofficial respondent, Syed Nayeemuddin. The petitioner alleged that the private respondent had constructed a compound wall and a gate on a public road. The judge observed that this was shadow fighting between the parties. Since it involved public land, the GHMC was required to look into the matter and take necessary steps within four weeks.
