The Telangana High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against two petitioners arrayed as accused Nos.1 and 3 in FIR No.86 of 2025 registered at Nakrekal Police Station for offences punishable under Sections 353(1)(c) and 352(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Justice K. Sujana allowed the criminal petition filed under Section 482 CrPC observing that even if the petitioners had circulated or forwarded the content in question, the essential ingredients of the invoked offences were not attracted and continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

The prosecution case was based on a complaint lodged by the second respondent, a Congress party leader belonging to the BC (Yadav) community. He alleged that certain YouTube channels and T-News had telecast false news linking him with one Guduguntla Shankar, a private teacher arrested in the SSC Telugu Board exam paper leakage case. It was further alleged that the petitioners and others, including BRS party leaders and social media in-charges, had forwarded the fake news on Twitter and other platforms without verification, thereby damaging his reputation, political career and causing mental distress.

The petitioners contended that they were innocent and falsely implicated due to political rivalry. They submitted that mere forwarding of news items on social media does not constitute a criminal act, there was no mens rea attributable to them, and no rumour or alarming news was circulated so as to attract Section 353(2) BNS which requires intent to promote enmity or hatred between communities. They also pointed out that multiple FIRs had been registered for the same incident which is impermissible in law and that this Court had already quashed FIR No.86 of 2025 against another accused by order dated 09.09.2025 in connected criminal petitions.

The Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the petition contending that the complaint disclosed deliberate circulation of false news with intent to harm the complainant’s reputation and that investigation had revealed incriminating material including social media posts.

After hearing both sides and perusing the record, the Court noted that the allegations arose out of the same incident of alleged false news circulation in connection with the SSC paper leakage case. It observed that this Court had already considered an identical issue in connected criminal petitions by common order dated 09.09.2025 wherein it was categorically held that the alleged Twitter posts did not disclose any intention to incite enmity between communities nor did they create fear or alarm to the public so as to disturb public tranquillity. The Court had further held that registration of multiple FIRs on the basis of one and the same incident amounts to abuse of process of law, placing reliance on the Supreme Court judgment in T.T. Antony v. State of Kerala and its own decision in Jakka Vinod Kumar Reddy v. State of Telangana.

Applying the same reasoning, the Court held that the allegations in the present FIR were squarely covered by the earlier order and that the alleged posts, even if assumed to have been made by the petitioners, did not satisfy the statutory requirements of Section 353 BNS. Consequently, continuation of proceedings against the petitioners would amount to an abuse of process of law.

The criminal petition was accordingly allowed and the proceedings initiated against the petitioners in FIR No.86 of 2025 were quashed. Miscellaneous applications, if any, stood closed.

Case Title: Konatham Dhilip Kumar @ Konatham Dileep Reddy & Anr. v. State of Telangana & Anr.
Case No.: Criminal Petition No.12721 of 2025
Date of Order: 18 March 2026
Coram: Hon’ble Smt. Justice K. Sujana

Appearance:
For Petitioners: Sri T.V. Ramana
For State: Sri Ramachandra Reddy, Additional Public Prosecutor

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