The Telangana High Court on Tuesday posted the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of YSR Congress Party Lok Sabha member Y S Avinash Reddy in connection with the case about the murder of former Andhra Pradesh Minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy to April 26.
Avinash Reddy filed the anticipatory bail petition in the Telangana High Court ahead of appearing before the CBI on April 17. His father Y S Bhaskar Reddy, uncle of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, was arrested by the CBI on April 16 in connection with the murder of Y S Vivekananda Reddy. Avinash Reddy is a nephew of Y S Vivekananda Reddy and a cousin of CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The High Court on April 18 directed the YSRCP MP from Kadapa in AP to appear for examination before the CBI every day till April 25 and granted him protection from arrest till that date.
In an interim order on the anticipatory bail plea of Avinash, the court asked him to cooperate with the central agency and directed that Avinash present himself at the CBI office between April 19 and April 25 for investigation. The question and answers shall be in printed/written form. The questionnaire may also be handed over to the petitioner and the questioning/interrogation shall be audio-video recorded, it said.
The high court had then said based on a report by CBI after questioning the petitioner, final orders will be passed on April 25.
However, the Supreme Court on Monday set aside the Telangana High Court order directing the CBI, probing the murder of Vivekananda Reddy, to provide a written questionnaire in advance to Avinash Reddy who is under the central agency’s scanner.
Terming the high court order “unwarranted”, a bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandarchud and Justice P S Narasimha quashed the direction the HC had issued to the CBI.
The top court, however, said the high court can proceed with the hearing of the anticipatory bail plea of Avinash Reddy on merits.
“The order of this nature will stultify investigation. The high court cannot order an investigation of a suspect to be in written form. It is completely inappropriate for the high court to order the questionnaire to be given to the first respondent (Avinash Reddy). Such orders prejudice the investigation, especially when the CBI is ascertaining the role of several accused. The directions of the high court were unwarranted and thus the high court order is set aside,” the bench said.
When the anticipatory bail plea came up today in the Telangana High Court, the petitioner’s counsel sought hearing on the matter but the judge said he will go through the Supreme Court’s order and posted the hearing on the final verdict of the anticipatory bail petition to Wednesday.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Suneetha Narreddy, daughter of Y S Vivekananda Reddy, challenging the high court order.
Vivekananda Reddy, one of the brothers of 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 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.
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