SC issues Notice on Plea Challenging Anticipatory Bail to YSR Cong MP in Vivekananda Reddy Murder Case

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to YSR Congress Party MP Y S Avinash Reddy and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in response to a plea filed by the daughter of late MP Y S Vivekananda Reddy. The plea challenges the Telangana High Court’s order granting Avinash Reddy anticipatory bail in the murder case of his relative, the former parliamentarian.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and M M Sundresh has scheduled the matter for hearing on July 3.

On May 31, the Telangana High Court granted anticipatory bail to Avinash Reddy, with the condition that he must not leave the country without the CBI’s permission until the investigation is completed. The High Court also directed “The petitioner shall cooperate with the investigation and appear before the CBI every Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm till the end of June 2023, and shall regularly appear as and when he is required for investigation“. The court stated that Avinash Reddy would be released on bail upon arrest by the CBI, upon execution of a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties of the same amount each.

Avinash Reddy, who is the cousin of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been under the scrutiny of the CBI and has been questioned by the agency multiple times this year. His father, Y S Bhaskar Reddy, was arrested by the CBI on April 16 in connection with the murder of Vivekananda Reddy.

Vivekananda Reddy, a brother of the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula, Kadapa district, on the night of March 15, 2019, just weeks before the Assembly polls in the state. Initially, the case was investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) but was later handed over to the CBI in July 2020. The CBI filed a charge sheet in the case on October 26, 2021, followed by a supplementary charge sheet on January 31, 2022.