Who Allowed Case Against Pawan Kalyan? HC Asks

The Andhra Pradesh High Court raised serious questions over the criminal complaint filed against Pawan Kalyan during the previous YSRCP government, asking under what authority a Public Prosecutor filed the case.

The case relates to remarks made by Pawan Kalyan during his Varahi Yatra in July 2023, where he alleged misuse of data collected by volunteers. Based on those comments, a criminal case was filed in a Guntur court in February 2024 under defamation sections.

During the hearing, the High Court noted that Pawan Kalyan was neither an MP nor an MLA at that time. It questioned how a Public Prosecutor could directly file a complaint against him and whether proper procedure was followed.

The court also observed that the government order permitting the complaint did not appear to follow due legal process.

The case later took a turn when some volunteers, initially shown as complainants, told the court that their signatures were taken and that they did not feel defamed. Following this, the Public Prosecutor filed a petition to withdraw the case, and the Guntur court allowed it in November 2024.

That withdrawal order was later challenged in the High Court by third-party petitioners, who argued that the Guntur court lacked jurisdiction and that the matter should have gone to a special court dealing with public representatives.

On the other side, Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas argued that the Guntur court had followed proper procedure before allowing withdrawal. He said volunteers are not public servants and Pawan Kalyan was not a public representative at the time.

He also argued that the present petitioners are different from the original complainants and do not have legal standing in the matter.

After hearing arguments, Justice Y. Lakshmana Rao adjourned the case to the 23rd of this month.

The court’s observations have now brought focus back on how the case was initiated and whether due legal process was followed.