The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the delay on the part of the Telangana high court in deciding member of Parliament YS Avinash Reddy’s anticipatory bail petition that he moved after being named a suspect in the 2019 murder of his uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy. It directed a vacation bench of the high court to take up the matter on Thursday.
YS Avinash Reddy, who is a cousin of Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, moved the top court for protection from arrest or a direction to the vacation bench to take up his matter at the earliest. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the larger conspiracy behind the murder, sent YS Avinash Reddy two notices to join the investigation on May 16 and 19.
The Supreme Court set aside an earlier order staying his arrest on April 24 while directing the anticipatory bail to be decided first.
A Supreme Court vacation bench of justices JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha said that despite the April 24 order, the anticipatory bail had not been decided. “How much time does it take to decide on an anticipatory bail petition? We are not happy that [high] court is not passing an order despite our direction,” it said. “...that an earlier bench heard the [anticipatory bail] petition will not come in the way of the high court [vacation bench] to hear the matter.”
After the April 24 order, the high court heard the matter twice in April but could not conclude the hearing before its closure for vacation. The matter was posted for hearing next on June 5. The top court has set June 30 as the deadline for the conclusion of the investigation in the case.
{{/usCountry}}After the April 24 order, the high court heard the matter twice in April but could not conclude the hearing before its closure for vacation. The matter was posted for hearing next on June 5. The top court has set June 30 as the deadline for the conclusion of the investigation in the case.
{{/usCountry}}The top court also expressed displeasure over the unwillingness of the accused to cooperate with the CBI probe. “After our order [of April 24] did you appear? The documents suggest that you have not been appearing. Are you apprehending arrest?”
Senior advocate V Giri, appearing for YS Avinash Reddy, said his client’s liberty is at stake and he is seeking protection from arrest as the CBI has arrested his father.
Suneetha Narreddy, daughter of the YS Vivekananda Reddy, opposed the pleas. On her plea, the top court passed the April 24 order setting aside the high court’s April 18 order directing the CBI to provide a written questionnaire to the accused before summoning him in the case. The top court said it was an attempt to “stultify” the probe.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, who represented Narreddy, told the court that earlier this week when CBI went to summon the accused for questioning, his supporters created a law-and-order situation.
The Telangana high court in March 2020 directed the CBI to take up a probe into the murder. Narreddy moved the court for it citing the slow pace of the investigation of a Special Investigation Team, which was reconstituted thrice to probe YS Vivekananda Reddy’s murder.
In October 2021, the CBI filed a charge sheet naming four accused in the case.
YS Vivekananda Reddy was found murdered at his home in Pulivendula in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district in 2019. In November, the top court directed the trial to be shifted from Kadapa to Hyderabad.
YS Vivekananda Reddy’s family raised questions over the fairness of the trial in Kadapa citing the closeness of the Andhra chief minister with YS Avinash Reddy.