HC Orders Release of Dr Cheruku Sudhakar on Bail

Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday ordered for the release of Dr. Cheruku Sudhakar. The court felt detaining of Sudhakar under the draconian National Security Act (NSA) as illegal.

Dr Cheruku Sudhakar, popularly known as poor peoples' doctor and a resident of Nakrekal in Nalgonda district, was arrested during the October 2011 'Sakala Janula Samme' or Telangana general strike for throwing stones at buses coming from coastal Andhra to Telangana. Acting on a petition filed by his wife and others, the court directed the Andhra Pradesh government to set him free on bail immediately.

Dr Sudhakar, who was associated with Naxal groups in the past, is presently a politburo member of Telangana Rasthra Samiti (TRS). The family and TRS moved the court after the state government instead of releasing him from custody, issued an order two days ago to detain him for a year under NSA. Though the government justified its action saying that a three-member committee headed by a retired judge evaluated Sudhakar's case and recommended his detention for another year, the high court faulted the government for ordering Sudhakar's detention merely on the ground of his association with the left wing movement in the past.