The Telangana High Court on Thursday granted regular bail to Bandi Bhagirath, the son of Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court directed him to furnish a bond of ₹1 lakh along with two sureties and comply with the conditions imposed while granting bail.
The order comes as part of the ongoing proceedings in the case, which involves charges under the POCSO Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
During the hearing, Public Prosecutor Palle Nageshwara Rao opposed the bail plea, contending that Bhagirath's release could lead to attempts to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence. He also informed the court that the police were in the process of filing the chargesheet.
Appearing for the petitioner, Bhagirath's counsel argued that he had remained in judicial custody for more than 40 days and had cooperated with the investigation. The defence sought regular bail, stating that further custodial detention was not warranted. Last month, a special POCSO court in Hyderabad's Malkajgiri had granted Bhagirath interim bail for seven days to enable him to appear for and attend his final examinations.
The case stems from an FIR registered on May 8 at the Petbasheerabad Police Station in Telangana. The FIR invokes Sections 74 and 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to outraging modesty and sexual harassment, along with Sections 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act.
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According to the complaint lodged by the victim's mother, Bhagirath allegedly entered into a relationship with her 17-year-old daughter in June 2025 on the false promise of marriage. The complaint further alleges that between October 2025 and January 2026, he subjected the girl to inappropriate physical acts and pressured her to consume alcohol.
The FIR also states that after the relationship ended on January 7, the girl allegedly attempted self-harm on two occasions later that month.
Bhagirath has denied the allegations and described the POCSO case as a "counterblast" to a criminal complaint he had filed against the girl's family just hours before the FIR was registered.
In his complaint, lodged at the Karimnagar-II Town Police Station, he alleged that the girl's parents attempted to extort ₹5 crore from him by threatening that their daughter would die by suicide if the money was not paid.
Bhagirath was taken into custody on the night of May 16 after the Telangana High Court declined to grant him interim protection from arrest. Police said he was apprehended on the outskirts of Hyderabad, while his legal team maintained that he had voluntarily surrendered and fully cooperated with the investigation. Following his arrest, he was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.
Reacting to the developments at the time, Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar said his son had appeared before the police in accordance with the law and asserted that "everyone is equal before the law."
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