The Telangana High Court on Monday quashed the FIR against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) in connection with a drone allegedly flown without permission over the Medigadda Barrage in July 2024.
Justice K. Lakshman, presiding over a single-judge bench, ruled that the case was riddled with procedural irregularities and amounted to an abuse of the legal process.
The court highlighted the absence of prior permission under Section 155(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and noted that the complaint filed by a Village Revenue Officer (VRO) was contrary to the provisions of Section 195(1)(a) of the CrPC.
“The investigating officer failed to adhere to the required legal steps while registering the crime,” the court observed.
As a result, proceedings under Section 223(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)—which pertains to disobedience of public servants’ orders resulting in danger—were deemed unsustainable and were ordered to be quashed.
KTR had been accused of directing two individuals to trespass onto the Medigadda site, fly a drone without official clearance, and release the captured footage online. He was booked three days later under multiple provisions, including Section 223(b) read with Section 3(5) (common intention) of the BNS, Sections 3 and 7 of the Official Secrets Act, and Section 10A of the Aircraft Act.
The prosecution had argued that the act jeopardised critical infrastructure and violated various laws. However, the court found several inconsistencies in the charges.
Notably, while the Telangana government had designated the Medigadda Barrage as a vital installation, it had not been officially declared a “prohibited place” under the Official Secrets Act by the Centre, weakening the foundation of the charges under that Act.
The judge also noted that the use of Section 10A of the Aircraft Act—dealing with penalties for unauthorised aircraft operations—was outside the jurisdiction of the state police and should fall under the remit of the central authorities.
Another key point of criticism was the delay in registering the FIR. The complaint was filed more than three days after the alleged incident, with the complainant, Assistant Executive Engineer Vali Shaik, stating he had only realised the footage had been shared after seeing it on the news. The court found this explanation “unsatisfactory”.
The FIR stemmed from a visit on 26 July 2024, when KTR and other BRS leaders toured the Medigadda Barrage, part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), which has been the focus of intense political debate.
The barrage had partially collapsed in October 2023, and a subsequent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in February 2024 declared the KLIP economically unviable from the outset.
KTR’s visit, seen as a political response to criticism from the ruling Congress party, allegedly involved the unauthorised drone flight to capture visuals of the site. These visuals were later posted on social media, prompting the complaint and subsequent FIR.
However, citing multiple procedural flaws and a lack of legal basis for several charges, the High Court ultimately dismissed the case, terming it an abuse of law.
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