Telangana High Court Backs Order Quashing Proceedings Against Two Police in 2003 Zaheerabad Shooting

Overview

• Justice Juvvadi Sridevi dismissed a criminal petition on September 24, upholding the revisional court’s 2021 decision that set aside a magistrate’s move to issue process against DSP P. Sreedhar Reddy and constable N. Gopal.
• The judge held there was no credible prima facie material to sustain murder charges, noting the magistrate relied on a protest petition without weighing the full record.
• The court underscored that prior sanction under Section 197 of the CrPC is mandatory for prosecuting acts connected to official duty, which was absent in this case.
• A 2004 magisterial inquiry and a 2008 CB-CID re-investigation had concluded the firing amounted to private defence, findings the High Court said were ignored at cognizance.
• The case arises from a May 2003 patrol in Zaheerabad where Mohammed Shafi allegedly snatched a constable’s rifle, after which four shots were fired and Shafi died, with the post-mortem noting multiple bullet injuries.