Do not take coercive action against Posani, HC directs police

In a significant relief to actor and writer Posani Murali Krishna, the Andhra Pradesh High Court instructed the Visakhapatnam police not to take any coercive action against him. The High Court adjourned further hearing of the case to March 19.

In three cases registered against Posani at Pattabhipuram in Guntur, Paderu in Alluri Sitarama Raju, and Palakonda in Manyam district, the court directed the respective police stations to issue notices under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Section 35(3) of the BNS mandates that police officers, when an arrest is not immediately necessary, must issue a notice to the person against whom there is a reasonable complaint or credible information. The notice directs the person to appear before the police or at a specified location.

As the Bhavanipuram police had already issued a Prisoner Transit (PT) warrant, the court dismissed Posani’s petition to quash the case.

Justice Nunepalli Harinath issued the orders on Monday while hearing petitions filed by Posani, seeking the dismissal of separate cases registered against him in Pattabhipuram, Bhavanipuram, Paderu, Palakonda, and Visakhapatnam One-Town Police stations.

It should be pointed out that Annamayya police had arrested Posani from his residence in Hyderabad on February 26 on charges of defaming Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan when they were in the opposition, through social media posts. At least 16 cases have been registered against the actor at police stations across the state.

It is worth noting that Posani Murali Krishna had previously served as Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Film, TV, and Theatre Development Corporation under the YSRCP regime.

Senior advocate and former Additional Advocate General (AAG) Ponnavolu Sudhakar argued on behalf of Posani, while AAG Sambasiva Pratap and State Public Prosecutor M Lakshminarayana represented the police.

Additionally, a court in Narsaraopet granted bail to Posani, directing him to furnish two sureties of ₹10,000 each. The Narasaraopet police had produced Posani, who was in Rajampet sub-jail, before the local court on March 3 on a PT warrant.

Posani was initially sent to Guntur jail on remand but was later shifted to Adoni sub-jail on a PT warrant issued by the Kurnool police. The custody petition filed by the Kurnool police was dismissed by Kurnool First Additional Judicial Magistrate, Aparna. The judge reserved the verdict and is scheduled to pronounce it on Tuesday (March 11).