Supreme Court demands personal presence of Telangana DGP amid ‘separation between prosecution and government lawyer’

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 1) expressed surprise over the lack of communication between the prosecution and the Telangana government counsel over the timing of filling up charge sheets in a criminal case.

Taking the “distance between the prosecution and the government” seriously, the court ordered the presence of the Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) for the next hearing, either in person or through virtual means.

“The DGP, Telangana State should be available on the next date to attend the proceedings either physically or in virtual mode.”

The bank of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti heard a plea by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Vatti Janaiah Yadav, who had moved the Supreme Court last year against the alleged prosecution by the then Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)-led government in Telangana following Yadav’s policy change from BRS to BSP.

Notably, the court had granted interim protection to Yadav on October 6, 2023 in 13 FIRs registered against him.

Today, during the hearing, the Telangana State Counsel informed the court that charge sheets have been filed in all relevant cases. However, the court found that when asked about the specific registration dates, she was unable to provide this information.

The court expressed surprise at this lack of knowledge and stated that such basic details should be readily available or provided by the instructing officer. The bench noted that this reflected a “Gap between the prosecutor’s office and the government”

“We are indeed surprised by the government counsel’s response as the relevant dates of filing of the charge sheets should either have been easily accessible or the instructing officer should have given the relevant dates of the charge sheets together when he was informed that the charge sheets had been filed . The discrepancy between the prosecution and the government’s counsel is clear to see.”

Further, the Supreme Court has directed the State’s counsel to submit all relevant details before the next hearing date. The matter will now be heard on October 4th.

Advocate Vinay P. Tripathi, learned advocate representing the plaintiff. The state of Telangana was represented by advocate Devina Sehgal.

Case Details: VATTI JANAIAH vs. STATE OF TELANGANA| Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.(s). 12098/2023

Click here to read the order