NRI from Tenali in Guntur district, Bodduluri Yasasvi, got a great relief from the Andhra Pradesh high court. The court directed the CID to give him back his passport which they seized at the time of his arrest.

The CID arrested Yasasvi in Shamshabad airport three days ago in the social media postings against Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. He was then taken to the CID headquarters in Mangalagiri, where they issued notice under 41A of the IPC.

As the CID officials seized his passport, Yasasvi filed a petition in the high court. Senior advocate Posani Venkateswarlu argued for Yasasvi and told the court that he should get stamping on his passport by the consulate for visa renewal. It would take at least three months for anyone to get the visa appointment, he told the court.

He also argued that the cases filed against Yasasvi do not stand scrutiny of the court. Mere criticism of the government and the chief minister does not attract criminal cases, the advocate told the court. Another advocate, P V G Umesh Chandra, also argued for Yasasvi and told the court that the cases have no validity.

Advocate for the CID Siva Kalpana Reddy said that Yasasvi carried out a false campaign against the government. He led this misleading campaign on a regular basis in social media, she told the court. She also said that the social media posts of Yasasvi were damaging to the government and were aimed at lowering the image of the government.

She also told the court that the CID had taken him into custody and served 41A notice to him. However, he is violating the conditions of the notice and spoke to the media, she said.

Judge Justice P S Bhanumathi, who heard the arguments, said that the CID officials did not follow the CRPC conditions while seizing the passport. She directed the CID to hand over his passport and allow him to get it renewed.