Telangana high court upholds detention of spurious pesticide seller | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Telangana high court has dismissed a petition challenging the preventive detention (PD) of a man booked as an “insecticide offender” under the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1986, ruling that the sale of spurious pesticides and seeds to farmers amounts to a disturbance of public order and not merely a law and order issue.A division bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Renuka Yara upheld the detention order on Sept 8, 2025, against Muddangula Aditya, holding that the grounds of detention were adequately supported by confessional statements, seizure records and insecticide analysis reports showing the products were “misbranded”.Aditya was detained under the PD Act by Warangal police after he was involved in four cases of supplying spurious insecticides to farmers. His wife Aerlam alias Muddangula Anuradha moved a petition challenging his detention.According to her, the four criminal cases against her husband did not disturb public order and, at best, raised only a law and order concern. She contended that there was no material to show any threat to the public, that her husband was not a habitual offender, and that the detention order violated his rights under Articles 14, 21 and 22 of the Constitution.Special govt pleader Swaroop Oorilla defended the order, relying on witness statements, insecticide analysis reports confirming the products were misbranded and ineffective, and confessions from detenu Aditya and his associates establishing that he procured spurious pesticides from Uttar Pradesh and sold them to traders and farmers across Warangal district.The court observed that the sale of spurious insecticides and seeds causes serious harm to the farming community, as gullible farmers buy such products believing they would protect crops and boost yield, only to suffer stunted growth and reduced output.The bench noted that farmers often depend on loans to fund agricultural expenses, and diminished crop production impairs their ability to repay these loans, deepening financial distress.The bench further observed that such losses have historically contributed to farmer suicides and unrest, including instances of farmers attacking shops selling counterfeit agricultural inputs.Given that India remains a largely agrarian economy, the court held that the sale of misbranded insecticides cannot be viewed as an isolated transaction between a buyer and a seller but must be assessed for its wider impact on public order and safety.Citing similar precedents involving spurious seed offenders, the court found the detention order legally sound and dismissed the petition.