Hyderabad, Oct 6: BRS working president and former Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) has sent a legal notice to Telugu daily Eenadu over a report claiming that a court had ordered the temporary seizure of his passport.
The report, published by Eenadu on September 29, was factually incorrect and misleading, according to the legal notice issued on behalf of KTR.
KTR’s lawyer, N. Lalitha Reddy, sent the legal notice on September 30 to the editor, publisher, printer, resident editor and the reporter concerned. The notice stated that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigating officer had only submitted a memo before the special court seeking appropriate directions regarding KTR’s passport.
According to the notice, the special court had not issued any order directing the temporary seizure of KTR’s passport. Describing the ACB’s memo as a court order was therefore incorrect, it said.
The notice also pointed out that the Regional Passport Office had issued a show-cause notice to KTR on September 28 under Section 10(3)(e) of the Passports Act. KTR was reportedly given 15 days to submit his explanation.
KTR’s legal team said that reporting that the court had already ordered the seizure of his passport could create a false impression about him among the public.
The lawyer also sought details of the sources and information used for the Eenadu report and asked whether the reporter had examined the relevant court records or orders before publishing the story.
The legal notice further directed the concerned parties to preserve all records related to the report, including WhatsApp messages, emails, notes, recordings, documents, drafts and other electronic records.
KTR has demanded that Eenadu immediately withdraw the report, publish a correction with the same prominence and issue an unconditional apology to him. The notice also sought corrections across the newspaper’s online platforms, e-paper, website, social media accounts and digital archives.
The notice has given Eenadu 48 hours to take the requested corrective action. If the demands are not met within the stipulated period, KTR’s legal team warned that it would initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings and approach the Press Council of India.
The dispute has therefore centred on whether a court actually issued an order for the temporary seizure of KTR’s passport or whether the information in the Eenadu report was based only on the ACB’s request for directions.
