Bombay HC dismissed pleas filed by Chandrababu Naidu and NA Babu seeking to overturn an FIR filed by Dharmabad police in Maharashtra's Nanded district
N Chandrababu Naidu. File Pic
The Bombay High Court's Aurangabad bench has dismissed a motion to dismiss a case against former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and TDP leader Nakka Ananda Babu for allegedly attacking police officers in Maharashtra in 2010.
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In their ruling on May 10, Justices Mangesh Patil and Shailesh Brahme noted that there was strong evidence linking both Naidu and Babu to the alleged crime, reported PTI.
According to the report, the HC dismissed petitions filed by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) head Naidu and Babu seeking to overturn an FIR lodged against them by the Dharmabad police in Maharashtra's Nanded district.
The FIR contained allegations of attacking or using criminal force against a public worker, inflicting harm with dangerous weapons, reckless acts risking the life of others, malicious insult with the goal to create a breach of peace, and criminal intimidation, the news agency report stated.
The bench emphasised that witness accounts directly linked Naidu and Babu in the offence, while medical certifications confirmed the injuries inflicted by multiple police officers.
"The FIR expressly alleges about the applicant accused no. 1 (Naidu) having instigated fellow prisoners and even threatened of there being a war between the two states," the HC said and added, "It is clear that the offence was committed by sharing a common intention to carry out assault on police personnel."
The HC further added, "The FIR was lodged promptly and even the injured police personnel were medically examined immediately."
"There is enough material revealing complicity of the applicants (Naidu and Babu) in commission of the crime with which they have been charged and it would not be appropriate to quash the crime and the criminal case," the high court said, per the PTI report.
According to the report,
Despite objections from the defendants' counsel, Sidharth Luthra, the court affirmed the accusations, citing that the Prisons Act did not give grounds for dismissing the FIR.
In July 2010, Dharmabad police arrested Naidu and Babu, along with 66 others, in connection with another protest and agitation case. During their detention, they allegedly refused to cooperate with authorities and incited war amongst states.
While Luthra claimed that the claims were untrue and fabricated, the court ruled that the charges under the Indian Penal Code were separate from the Prisons Act, dismissing the request to dismiss the case.
The court granted Naidu and Babu interim protection until July 8, as asked by their counsel.
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