Justice Chandra Kumar of A.P. High Court pulls up police for its action
Even though the Andhra Pradesh High Court had granted The Hindu"™s Resident Editor anticipatory bail in a case concerning a news story that the State"™s police chief has objected to, a posse of policemen barged into his residence here on Saturday morning ostensibly to issue a notice requiring him to appear in the local police station.
Eight uniformed policemen forced their way into S. Nagesh Kumar"™s house after pushing aside the watchman. Three of them walked right into the dining hall and questioned his 81-year-old mother and daughter on his whereabouts.
Around the same time, Inspector Tirupathi Rao of the Panjagutta police station and G.N. Sastry, public relations officer in the office of Director-General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy, called up a reporter of The Hindu, asking him to inform Mr. Nagesh Kumar that he had to be present at the local police station in connection with a complaint in support of Mr. Reddy, following the publication of a report about the latter"™s visit to a godman in Old City.
Mr. Nagesh Kumar"™s daughter said:"It was clearly an attempt to intimidate the family."
The A.P. Working Journalists"™ Federation has protested against the police highhandedness, while a delegation of Indian Journalists"™ Union and A.P. Union of Working Journalists met Punjagutta police and demanded action against the guilty policemen.
Legal Correspondent adds:
When the matter was brought to his notice by Mr. Nagesh Kumar"™s counsel, Justice Chandra Kumar of the A.P. High Court expressed unhappiness at the police action. .
The judge then sent for the public prosecutor and when the advocate representing the prosecutor came, he directed him to inform the police of the Court"™s order. Justice Kumar reminded him that the orders were pronounced after both sides argued their case.