Kishore Kumar Ganji Vs State of Telangana (Telangana High Court)
The case of Kishore Kumar Ganji Vs State of Telangana before the Telangana High Court addressed a challenge to a police notice issued to a company under the newly introduced Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The Judgment highlights that responsibility to respond to notices under Sections 94 & 179 of under BNSS 2023 lies with company’s current authorized representatives, not former directors.
The petitioner, Kishore Kumar Ganji, the former Managing Director and a majority shareholder (58.52%) of Airis Pharma Private Limited, filed a writ petition seeking to quash a notice dated September 9, 2025, issued by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Cyberabad. This notice, issued under Sections 94 and 179 of the BNSS, 2023, demanded the production of various company documents in relation to a criminal complaint (Crime No. 63 of 2025) involving fraud, cheating, and criminal breach of trust. The criminal complaint was lodged by the respondent No. 4, with the petitioner himself being arrayed as an accused in the FIR.
The core argument put forth by the petitioner’s senior counsel was that since the petitioner was already an accused in the FIR, compelling him to furnish company documents through the notice violated his fundamental right against self-incrimination under Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India. The counsel further contended that the dispute was primarily civil, involving issues of management, control, and investment governed by the Companies Act, 2013, with proceedings already pending before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under Sections 241, 242, 213, and 119. He argued that the criminal complaint was lodged merely to settle scores in a corporate dispute.
