The Telangana High Court has sentenced former LB Nagar assistant commissioner of police A Krishnaiah to one month of simple imprisonment and fined him Rs 2,000 for arresting a businessman despite an interim court order protecting him from arrest in a dowry death case.
Justice K Sujana found Krishnaiah guilty of wilfully disobeying the court’s directions in the case involving businessman Katta Vamsi Krishna. The court, however, suspended the sentence for four weeks until October 19 after public prosecutor Palle Nageshwar Rao sought time for the officer to file an appeal.
The contempt proceedings arose from a criminal case registered at Saroornagar police station in April after the death of Vamsi Krishna’s wife, allegedly following harassment over additional dowry. Vamsi Krishna and his parents were named in the case.
The High Court had granted interim protection to Vamsi Krishna and directed the police not to arrest him. Despite the order, he was arrested while receiving treatment at a hospital and produced before the jurisdictional magistrate. The magistrate rejected his remand after taking note of the High Court’s protection order.
During the contempt proceedings, the petitioner alleged that police personnel had continuously harassed his family, pressured doctors to discharge him from hospital and ignored warnings from his lawyer about the court’s order. He also alleged that he was falsely shown as “absconding” in case records before the arrest.
The public prosecutor defended Krishnaiah by arguing that the officer was unaware that the interim protection had been extended. The prosecutor also said the officer had acted in view of the seriousness of the offence and had tendered an unconditional apology before the court.
Justice Sujana rejected the explanation and apology. The court held that once Krishnaiah knew about the initial protection order, he was required to verify whether it remained in force by checking the High Court’s website or using appropriate legal channels before proceeding with the arrest.
The court said the officer’s admission that he acted under pressure arising from the nature of the case, without verifying the status of the judicial directions, amounted to clear disobedience. The court also dropped contempt proceedings against sub-inspector V Maraiah after finding that he had no role in the arrest.
The sentence will remain suspended until October 19, providing the former officer time to file an appeal.
