The High Court of Andhra Pradesh on Friday dismissed the habeas corpus petition filed by the family members of Maoist leaders T. Tirupati, alias Devji, and Malla Raji Reddy while giving them liberty to approach the court again if and when concrete evidence (of alleged detention of the Maoists by the police) emerges.
Justices C. Manavendranath Roy and Tuhin Kumar Gedela took note of the memo and a pen drive submitted by Devji’s brother Gangadhar and Raji Reddy’s daughter Snehalatha, which contained videos of statements purportedly made by the police in press conferences that they detained the top Maoists, and closed the petition.
The videos secured from the electronic media were played in the open court, and the special government pleader reiterated that the two Maoists were not in police custody as claimed by the petitioners. Besides, reports of the alleged detention published in the print media were enclosed as evidence for perusal by the court.
Mr. Gangadhar and Ms. Snehalatha apprehended a threat to the lives of Maoists in police custody, citing some extra-judicial killings that happened in recent times, and insisting that their detention was in violation of norms.
Published – November 21, 2025 07:17 pm IST
