The Telangana High Court has quashed a trial court's order taking cognizance of criminal proceedings, strictly condemning the growing practice among trial courts of issuing summons using mechanical orders and rubber stamps. The bench expressed deep concern over procedural lapses in lower courts that needlessly drag out litigation and waste judicial time.
Background
The case stems from a complaint lodged by 63-year-old businessman Sri Koduru Pitcheswara Rao, leading to Crime No. 1887 of 2025 registered at Gachibowli Police Station. Police initially registered the case under Section 109 read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, before altering it to Section 122(2) of the BNS.
After completing investigation, police filed a final report on July 31, 2026. However, the II Additional Junior Civil Judge-cum-X Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Kukatpally took cognizance of the offence against seven respondents (accused Nos. 1 to 7) without mentioning the date of cognizance and without applying judicial mind to determine if a prima facie case existed. Anticipating that the technical flaw could trigger endless appeals later, the complainant himself challenged the order before the High Court.
Hearing the petition, Justice J. Sreenivas Rao observed that taking cognizance is taken of an offence, not of an offender, requiring clear application of mind by the magistrate. Pointing to an alarming trend across trial courts, the judge highlighted that setting aside defective orders repeatedly restarts trial proceedings from scratch.
"It is a matter of serious concern that, despite several orders passed by this Court pointing out such procedural irregularities, the same lapses continue to recur. The learned Magistrates are expected to independently examine the material placed before them and record their prima facie satisfaction with regard to the specific offences disclosed against the accused while taking cognizance. However, failure to adhere to this requirement is resulting in avoidable challenges before this Court," the Court noted.
The High Court further emphasized how these systemic errors adversely affect all parties involved in criminal litigation.
"Such repeated procedural lapses not only burden this Court with avoidable litigation but also consume the valuable time and resources of the subordinate judiciary, the prosecution, the State machinery and the parties concerned. More importantly, they adversely affect the interests of both the accused and the victims, as the proceedings are unnecessarily delayed and the parties are compelled to undergo repeated rounds of litigation and also they have to incur expenditure," Justice Rao observed.
Remarking on the scale of the issue, the Court disclosed that it had already set aside more than 500 such cognizance orders since January 2026 alone.
"This Court hopes and trusts that, by imparting appropriate training and sensitization to the judicial officers concerned, such avoidable procedural irregularities can be eliminated at the threshold itself. The object of these directions is not merely to rectify the procedural defects arising in individual cases but also to ensure that such errors do not recur, thereby preventing unnecessary litigation, reducing the burden on the High Court, safeguarding the interests ofthe accused and victims, and ensuring the effective utilization of valuable judicial time and public resources," the judgment stated.
Justice J. Sreenivas Rao set aside the trial court's docket order and remitted the matter back to the Magistrate to take cognizance afresh in accordance with established legal principles. Additionally, the High Court directed its Registrar (Judicial-I) to circulate the order to all Principal District and Sessions Judges across Telangana.
It also directed the Director of the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Secunderabad to conduct specialized training sessions for judicial officers on taking cognizance and recording independent prima facie satisfaction.
Case Details:
Case Title: Sri Koduru Pitcheswara Rao v. The State of Telangana and Seven Others
Case Number: Criminal Petition No. 17909 of 2026
Judge: Hon'ble Justice J. Sreenivas Rao
Decision Date: October 29, 2026
