Hyderabad : Telangana high court has dismissed a writ appeal filed by a Hyderabad-based businessman who alleged that he was assaulted and coerced during questioning by Enforcement Directorate (ED), ruling that such allegations involve disputed questions of fact that must be established through a criminal investigation and trial.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy, in an order dated Sept 28, upheld an earlier decision of a single judge who had rejected the petition on June 23. The court found no independent and contemporaneous material linking the injuries claimed by the petitioner to his interrogation at the ED’s Hyderabad zonal office. The ED, however, denied the allegations and informed the court that Kiran was being questioned in connection with five FIRs involving celebrities, social media influencers and betting applications accused of cheating the public through online gaming platforms. The ED countered that despite alleging serious offences, Kiran had not lodged any police complaint, even though he approached the high court immediately after the alleged incident.
CCTV footage showed Kiran leaving the office at around 8 pm without any visible injuries and signing the exit register, according to the agency. The ED also disputed the photographs produced by the petitioner, alleging that they were fabricated and possibly self-inflicted to derail the investigation. Dismissing the appeal, the division bench held that allegations of torture, assault and coercion constitute serious criminal accusations that require evidence to be gathered through investigation and tested during trial. The court observed that if a complaint or FIR had been registered, investigating authorities could have collected material evidence, including CCTV footage and witness statements.
Holding that the writ court was not required to adjudicate such disputed factual issues in the absence of an investigation, the bench declined to interfere with the earlier order and dismissed the appeal.