Now Reading: Telangana HC rejects farmer’s appeal citing jurisdictional limits
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Telangana HC rejects farmer’s appeal citing jurisdictional limits
The Telangana High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Kadannagari Babu, a 67-year-old farmer from Shamirpet, ruling that his plea was not maintainable under the Letters Patent because it sought to…
The Telangana High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Kadannagari Babu, a 67-year-old farmer from Shamirpet, ruling that his plea was not maintainable under the Letters Patent because it sought to effectively quash criminal proceedings. The division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin held that the relief fell outside the scope of appeals permitted by the Letters Patent.
Babu had approached a single judge seeking a declaration that a criminal case registered at the instance of fellow farmer Kadannagari Munu Swamy was illegal and violative of his constitutional rights. Munu Swamy had alleged trespass, property damage and threats. The single judge refused to quash the case, directing police not to take coercive action without due process. Aggrieved, Babu appealed.
The bench accepted the government pleader's argument that entertaining such an appeal under the Letters Patent would be impermissible. Babu had contended the dispute was purely civil, but the court disagreed and dismissed the appeal.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Appeals against single-judge criminal orders are governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, not by Letters Patent, which define the High Court's civil and constitutional jurisdiction. The Telangana High Court's ruling confirms that a farmer cannot bypass the statutory appeal route by reframing a quashing petition as a civil declaratory suit. This procedural bar leaves Kadannagari Babu with only a criminal revision petition before a single judge or, ultimately, a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. The underlying land dispute between the two farmers will continue in the trial court, where the charge sheet has already been filed. The next hearing in that criminal case will determine whether the police's evidence supports the trespass and threat allegations or whether the case is indeed a civil dispute dressed in criminal clothes.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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