Hyderabad, In a setback for Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s son Bhajitrath in the POCSO case registered against him, the Telangana High Court on Friday night did not grant any interim protection from arrest.
Justice T Madhavi Devi, who resumed the hearing of Kumar’s son Bandi Bhagirath’s interim anticipatory bail plea on Friday evening, said she was not inclined to grant any interim order at this stage.
The judge held hearings until approximately midnight and indicated that the orders would be issued on the court’s next day off. Bagherat’s lawyer requested temporary protection from arrest until the orders are issued.
Initially, the arguments presented by Bagherat’s lawyers, the victim and the prosecution focused on the application for interim relief. However, discussions later moved to seeking anticipatory bail.
During the detailed arguments, Bagirat’s counsel said that the hearing court for the bail application has inherent power to grant interim bail pending final disposal of the bail application.
Among other arguments, he pointed out that the victim’s mother, who is the complainant in the case, stated that her daughter entered into a relationship with the accused in 2025, and that there was a friendly relationship between them.
The victim’s lawyer objected to any relief for the accused, saying that the accused’s father was an influential person and that there was a possibility that the evidence was tampered with.
The court on Thursday said it would issue orders on the interim anticipatory bail petition on Friday.
Earlier, before the start of the arguments, the judge expressed her concern about the presence of a defamation campaign on social media and that she was pained by it. The judge was told that the city police commissioner had been informed of this.
She said she would not hear the case if the victim’s attorney had any reservations about discussing the case before her. However, after solicitations from lawyers, she agreed to go ahead with the hearing.
The case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS Act and POCSO on May 8 against Bhagirath on the basis of a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged that Bhagirath was having an affair with her daughter and sexually harassing her.
After recording the victim’s statement, stricter provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act were activated in the case.
Bageerat also filed a complaint with the police in Karimnagar, alleging that the girl, who recognized him, invited him to family functions and group gatherings. An FIR was registered based on Bhagirath’s complaint.
Bagirat stated in the complaint that, because he believed that the girl’s family was trustworthy, he accompanied them on visits to some holy places as part of a group of friends.
He also claimed that the girl and her parents later pressured him to marry her. When he rejected the offer, the girl’s parents allegedly demanded money and threatened to file false complaints against him if he did not pay.
Bagherat claimed that he paid the price out of fear $50 thousand to the girl’s father, but the family later demanded $5 Crores. They also allegedly threatened the girl’s mother with suicide if he failed to meet their demands.
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