Murder of Ex-Andhra minister: SC stays HC order granting bail to accused

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a part of the Telangana High Court order asking a trial court to enlarge on bail on July 1 a man accused of involvement in the murder of former Andhra Pradesh minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy.

A vacation bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and P S Narasimha, which posted the matter for further hearing on July 14, said it was staying the part of the high court's April 27 order directing the trial court to enlarge accused T Gangi Reddy alias Yerra Gangi Reddy on bail.

The bench was hearing two petitions, including the one filed by Vivekananda Reddy's daughter, Suneetha Narreddy, challenging the high court order granting conditional bail to T Gangi Reddy, while allowing a plea for its cancellation.

The other petition was filed by T Gangi Reddy challenging the high court's order cancelling the bail.

"Re-list on July 14. Till the next date, the following part of the order dated April 27 passed by the high court shall remain stayed...," the bench said.

In its April 27 order, the high court had said, "Accused No.1 (T Gangi Reddy) is directed to surrender on or before May 05, 2023. On his surrender, he shall be remanded to judicial custody till June 30, 2023 which is the outer limit fixed by the Supreme Court for completion of investigation by CBI."

"In case, the accused ... fails to surrender before the court concerned on or before the said date, CBI is at liberty to take him into custody as provided under law and produce him before the court of Principal Special Judge for CBI cases, Hyderabad, it had said.

"The Court is directed to enlarge the petitioner on bail on July 01, 2023, on his executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs one lakh with two sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the said court," the high court had ordered.

During the hearing on Friday, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Suneetha, told the bench that the CBI has filed its counter affidavit on her plea.

He said the CBI has said in its counter that the high court order is a "bad precedent".

"We will take it up after vacation. The last portion (of the high court order), we will stay that," the bench said.

During the hearing on May 24, the CBI had termed as "inherently contradictory" the high court order granting bail to the accused and told the bench that it supports Suneetha's plea challenging this verdict.

"We have never heard of it that the order which cancels the bail allows the bail. How is it possible? Inherently contradictory," Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the CBI, had told the bench.

On May 18, the top court had issued notices to the CBI and the accused on the plea challenging the high court order.

Earlier, the top court had transferred the pleas seeking cancellation of Gangi Reddy's bail to Telangana High Court for fresh adjudication.

The CBI had initially moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking the cancellation of bail. The high court held there were no legal grounds to cancel it.

The probe agency had then moved the top court which, on January 16, transferred the matter to the Telangana High Court to consider it afresh on merits.

The CBI is also probing the role of YSR Congress Party Lok Sabha member Y S Avinash Reddy in the case.

Avinash Reddy is a nephew of Y S Vivekananda Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's cousin.

Vivekananda Reddy, one of the brothers of the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula in Kadapa district on the night of March 15, 2019, weeks before the Assembly elections in the state.

The murder case was initially probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state CID but was handed over to the CBI in July 2020.

The CBI had filed a charge sheet in the murder case on October 26, 2021 and followed it up with a supplementary charge sheet on January 31, 2022.