The Telangana High Court directed the State government to clarify the timeline for enacting a law regulating lift and elevator safety amid reports of repeated fatal accidents.

Hearing a public interest litigation, the Court asked the State to file a detailed report within four weeks on the status of the proposed Telangana Lifts Act, 2025. The State informed the Court that a draft bill was under consideration and sought six months.

The Court also asked authorities to examine whether interim safety guidelines could be implemented through executive instructions until the legislation comes into force. 

The matter has been posted for further hearing.

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed appeals in the 23-year-old death case of Telugu/Tamil actress Prathyusha, ruling out allegations of murder and rape.

A Bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan held that consistent eyewitness accounts and medical evidence established death by poisoning. The Court noted that Prathyusha and her boyfriend, Gudipalli Siddhartha Reddy, had consumed poison amid opposition to their relationship, though Reddy survived.

Rejecting the defence of accidental intake, the Court found Reddy guilty of abetment to suicide for procuring the poison and directed him to surrender within four weeks.

It also termed the postmortem conducted by Dr. Muni Swamy unprofessional.

[Gudipalli Siddharta Reddy v. State (C.B.I.)]

The Telangana High Court held that the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) cannot fence land or demolish structures without proper verification and notice.

The case arose after HYDRAA fenced land in Narsingi and demolished a compound wall, citing complaints of encroachment.

The Court said even alleged encroachers are entitled to prior notice under the Telangana Land Encroachment Act, 1905 and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.

It directed HYDRAA to verify if the land falls within a civil court decree and remove the fencing within 48 hours if it does.

The Telangana High Court has directed the police to seek instructions on the bail pleas filed by Emandi Ravi, alias iBomma Ravi, who is accused of running a large-scale Tollywood movie piracy racket.

The Court heard multiple bail petitions filed by Ravi, who claimed that the investigation and custodial interrogation were already complete.

Opposing bail, the police argued that Ravi is a flight risk and alleged that the piracy operation caused losses running into thousands of crores.

The Court asked Ravi’s counsel to clarify issues relating to his passport and adjourned the matter for further hearing.

[Emandi Ravi v. State of Telangana]

The Telangana High Court questioned the State government on how many more years it would take to clear the long-pending bills of fish seed suppliers, despite the issuance of Budget Release Orders.

Hearing a batch of contempt petitions, the Court noted that payments remained unpaid even after earlier court directions and initiation of contempt proceedings.

The Court declined the government’s request for additional time and granted a final four-week period to complete payments and file a compliance report.

It warned that senior officials would be required to appear personally if directions were not followed and listed the matter for further hearing on March 6.

[Fish Seed Suppliers v. State of Telangana]

The Supreme Court has asked the Telangana High Court to reconsider, on merits, Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal’s plea seeking quashing of a cheating case linked to an alleged fraud by a platform user.

The Court noted that the High Court earlier rejected the plea without examining its merits and merely allowed the investigation to continue.

While remitting the matter, the Supreme Court granted Mittal interim protection from coercive action for eight weeks, clarifying that it has expressed no opinion on the merits of the case.

[Anupam Mittal v. State of Telangana & Anr.]

The Telangana High Court quashed overstay penalties and directions to surrender an Indian passport imposed on a three-year-old minor holding both Indian and British passports.

The Court said that executive instructions or immigration guidelines cannot curtail the statutory right of Indian citizenship by descent during minority. It observed that under the Citizenship Act, 1955, the requirement of renunciation arises only upon attaining majority.

In the absence of any formal adjudication or written order declaring cessation of citizenship, authorities could not insist on passport surrender or levy fines.

The Court also held that denying an exit permit in such circumstances was unsustainable under law.

The Telangana High Court has refused to grant custody of a child to a couple involved in an illegal adoption, holding that emotional bonding cannot override statutory safeguards.

The Court ruled that adoptions carried out outside the legally prescribed framework cannot be regularised, as doing so would legitimise child trafficking. The Court noted that the couple procured the child through unlawful means, in violation of CARA guidelines and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Emphasising that law must prevail over sentiment, the Court warned that any deviation from the legal adoption process would encourage trafficking and undermine child protection mechanisms.

The writ petition seeking restoration of custody was accordingly dismissed.

The Supreme Court sought responses from the Bar Council of India and the Bar Council of Telangana on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of Rule 4 of the Bar Council of India Rules, 2023.

The plea was filed after an advocate’s nomination for State Bar Council elections was rejected under the Bar Council of India Rules, 2023.

The Rule disqualifies advocates from contesting Bar Council elections if two or more serious criminal cases are pending against them. The petitioner argued that disqualification based solely on pendency of criminal cases violates the principle of presumption of innocence.

The Court issued notice and posted the matter for further hearing.

The Telangana High Court has overturned the death sentence awarded to a 35-year-old woman convicted of murdering her seven-month-old daughter in 2021 after accepting her plea of insanity.

The Court noted that the woman was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature or consequences of her actions.

Applying Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code, which exempts criminal liability for acts committed by persons of unsound mind, the Court held that the conviction could not be sustained.

Instead of ordering her release, the Court directed that she be shifted from Chanchalguda Women’s Prison to the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda, for long-term psychiatric treatment, with periodic review and supervision as required under the Mental Healthcare Act.

The Telangana High Court dismissed an appeal filed by Union Bank of India challenging the cancellation of an auction of a company property under liquidation.

A Division Bench held that while banks are empowered to recover dues through auctions, they must follow due process, act transparently, and involve the official liquidator.

The Court noted that despite a higher offer being available, the bank conducted an online auction at a lower price without coordinating with the liquidator, who represents the interests of all creditors and workers.

Upholding the single judge’s order, the Court ruled that the auction was rightly cancelled due to procedural lapses.

The Telangana High Court dismissed a writ appeal filed by Sanghi Polymers Private Limited challenging a demand of over ₹4.21 crore raised by the state electricity board towards Grid Support Charges and interest for the period between 2002 and 2009.

The Court said electricity and water are vital public resources involving significant public investment and must be used responsibly.

It held that the company was bound by its 2020 agreement, undertaking to comply with government regulations and pay applicable tariffs. The Court also ruled that the demand was not time-barred, as the legality of such charges was settled by the Supreme Court only in 2019.

The company was directed to pay ₹1.03 crore as principal along with ₹3.17 crore as interest.

[Sanghi Polymers Pvt. Ltd. v. Telangana State Electricity Board]

The Telangana High Court has directed registration of an FIR in connection with the alleged illegal alienation of Bhoodan land in Nagaram village, Maheshwaram mandal.

Allowing a criminal revision petition, the Court set aside a magistrate’s order which had declined to proceed with the complaint and remanded the matter for reconsideration.

It permitted registration of an FIR against a senior IAS officer, revenue officials, and representatives of a private construction firm accused of unlawfully transferring Bhoodan land.

The Court also noted that the Enforcement Directorate is already probing the alleged scam linked to the same survey number and has attached properties treated as proceeds of crime.

The Telangana High Court directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to provide immediate and detailed compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions on the capture and rehabilitation of stray dogs.

The Court heard a petition filed by animal welfare organisations seeking suspension of ongoing dog-catching operations until proper shelters and compliance mechanisms are in place.

Petitioners highlighted that GHMC had failed to furnish the mandated list of nodal officers and institutions.

The Court permitted inspection of two animal shelters and allowed recording of conditions. It further instructed GHMC to present complete information and a senior officer at the next hearing, listed for December 9.

[Association for Animal Shelter & Rescue Aid v. GHMC]