Lawfare – Journalists

On June 17, news emerged that the Tadwai police in Telangana’s Mulugu district had registered a case against Prof Haragopal and others in August last year under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including under UAPA. The FIR mentioned that the accused had tried to “take over the power of the democratically elected government at gunpoint”.

The accused said they were not aware of the case until Friday, June 17, despite the fact that the case was filed on August 19, 2022. The inclusion of their names came to light when the police were forced to furnish the FIRs filed against Chandramouli, president of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), based on the direction of the Ranga Reddy district court.

The Telangana government is said to have decided not to pursue the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case filed against Prof Haragopal, Sudha Bharadwaj, and 150 others after chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao directed the state police chief to “drop” the case, The Hindu reported.