Hyderabad : Taking serious exception to the continuation of a rowdy sheet against a businessman for more than two decades after the criminal case against him was closed, the Telangana high court has directed the Nizamabad police to remove his name from the surveillance register and discontinue the rowdy sheet forthwith.
The order was passed while disposing of a petition filed by Saleem, a resident of Bodhan, seeking removal of his name from the rowdy sheet opened at Bodhan police station on June 28, 2002. Despite the closure of the case, the rowdy sheet continued for the next 23 years. Saleem told the court that he had repeatedly requested the police to remove his name, including through a written representation submitted on June 25, 2026, but received no response.
Justice Tangirala Madhavi Devi held that there was no specific material to justify the continued surveillance of Abdul Saleem after the criminal case that led to the opening of the rowdy sheet had been closed. The court also directed the police not to summon him to the police station in connection with the rowdy sheet. At the same time, the judge clarified that the order would not prevent the police from acting against Saleem in accordance with law if any fresh complaint or cognisable offence is registered against him in future. He also sought directions restraining the police from calling him to the station and allegedly harassing him.
“Merely referring to his antecedents and public apprehension, without placing specific material warranting continued surveillance, could not justify continuation of the rowdy sheet for such a prolonged period,” the judge observed. The high court, however, found that no concrete material had been placed before it to justify retaining Saleem’s name in the rowdy sheet for such a prolonged period after the closure of the criminal case.