Telangana High Court Grants Bail To Man Booked For Threatening Minor Of Circulating Her Morphed Photos, Notes Probe Almost Complete

The Telangana High Court has granted bail to a man accused of stalking a minor girl, threatening to morph her photographs into obscene images and upload them on social media, and later trespassing into her house along with his relatives. [2026 LiveLaw (Tel) 109]

The Court noted that the petitioner had been in custody since May 23, 2026, that material witnesses had already been examined, and that substantial part of the investigation had been completed.

Allowing the bail petition, Justice K. Sujana observed:

"In the light of the submissions made by both the learned counsel and a perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the petitioner is in jail since 23.05.2026. It is noticed that Ws.(witnesses) 1 to 12 are already examined and material part of the investigation is completed. Therefore, this Court deems it fit to grant bail to the petitioner..."

The petitioner was accused of offences under Sections 77 (voyeurism), 78 (stalking), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of woman), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 351(2) (criminal intimidation by threat of grievous hurt, etc.) and 329(4) (house trespass) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 11 read with Section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (sexual harassment of a child).

According to the prosecution, the petitioner was acquainted with the complainant's family and had taken photographs of her 14-year-old daughter during a saree function. It was alleged that he thereafter stalked the minor, compelled her to talk and chat with him, and threatened to morph her photographs into obscene images and circulate them on social media. Although he was allegedly counselled in the presence of elders, his conduct continued. The complaint further alleged that on May 6, 2026, the petitioner and his relatives trespassed into the complainant's house, abused the family members in filthy language and attempted to assault them. Based on the complaint, Crime No.570 of 2026 was registered at Attapur Police Station, Hyderabad.

Seeking bail, counsel for the petitioner submitted that he had been falsely implicated and that the investigation had been substantially completed. It was argued that the petitioner was the sole breadwinner of his family, was willing to cooperate with the investigation, and that there was no likelihood of his absconding or tampering with evidence.

The State opposed the petition, contending that the allegations involved a 14-year-old minor and disclosed serious offences under the POCSO Act. It submitted that the petitioner's conduct posed a continuing threat to the victim and pointed out that the trial court had already rejected his bail application considering the gravity of the allegations. It was argued that releasing him on bail at that stage would adversely affect both the victim and the course of justice.

After considering the rival submissions, the High Court noted that the petitioner had remained in judicial custody since May 23, 2026. The Court also took note of the fact that prosecution witnesses 1 to 12 had already been examined and that the material part of the investigation had been completed. In these circumstances, it held that the petitioner was entitled to be enlarged on bail.

The Court directed the petitioner to execute a personal bond of ₹25,000 with two sureties of the like amount. It further directed him to appear before the concerned Station House Officer every Monday at 11 a.m. for eight weeks or until filing of the charge sheet, whichever was earlier, and thereafter as and when required. The petitioner was also directed to comply with the conditions stipulated under Section 480(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Case Title: Gotiga Raj Kumar @ Raju v. State of Telangana

Case No.: Criminal Petition No. 9733 of 2026

Appearance: Sri Abhilash Sontake for the petitioner; Sri D. Arun Kumar, Additional Public Prosecutor, for the respondent-State.

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Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Tel) 109