HC clears BRS meet in Wanaparthy with rider

Hyderabad: The High Court of Telangana Single Bench comprising Justice E.V. Venugopal, on Wednesday granted conditional permission to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party to hold a public meeting at Dharna Chowk, Gollapally Village Gate, Ravelly Mandal, Wanaparthy District, on April 9, 2026, between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., restricting attendance strictly to 1,000 members.

The order was passed during the hearing of a Lunch Motion Writ Petition filed by Mr. Gattu Yadav, President of the BRS party, Wanaparthy District, challenging the cancellation of permission that had been originally granted by the Sub Divisional Police Officer, Wanaparthy. The Superintendent of Police, Wanaparthy, had subsequently cancelled that permission, prompting the petitioner to approach the High Court on an urgent basis.

The Court directed the Superintendent of Police, Wanaparthy, to accord permission for the meeting, while simultaneously imposing strict conditions upon the petitioner.

The Court mandated that none of the speakers shall make provocative speeches or slogans, or any derogatory, defamatory, or abusive remarks against any individual, and that there shall be no disturbance to law and order, peace, or public tranquillity.

The Government Pleader for Home, Mr. Mahesh Raje, apprised the Court that the Superintendent of Police had cancelled the permission on the basis of intelligence reports indicating that between 7,000 and 10,000 persons were likely to attend the meeting, a figure far exceeding the 1,000 members cited by the petitioner in his original application. The police authority had further taken note of the fact that the proposed venue falls within an area identified as being affected by Maoist activity, which constituted an additional ground for the cancellation.

Counsel for the petitioner, Mr. T.V. Ramana Rao, submitted before the Court that farmers from the villages of Thalpanoor, Revally, Yedula, Cheekapally, Chennaram, and Gollapally have been opposing the proposed construction of the Gollapally Reservoir near the Yedula Reservoir for the past one hundred days.

He submitted that the BRS party was organising the public meeting in solidarity with the aggrieved farming community on this issue.

The meeting was stated to be addressed by T. Harish Rao, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Siddipet, and S. Niranjan Reddy, a former Minister during the BRS administration.

Taking all submissions on record, the Court allowed the writ petition and directed that the meeting proceed subject to strict compliance with all conditions imposed, particularly with respect to the cap on attendance and the maintenance of law and order.