Suneetha Narreddy, the daughter of the late former MP YS Vivekananda Reddy, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Telangana High Court’s decision to grant anticipatory bail to Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy in relation to her father’s murder.
A vacation Bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Rajesh Bindal has agreed to list the matter on June 13, 2023.
Appearing for the appellant, Senior Counsel Sidharth Luthre stated, “They do not cooperate on summons. Then he avoids the probe on account of mother’s illness. The accused is the principal conspirator in my father’s murder… my father was killed… High Court did not grant interim protection initially.”
Justice Bose asked, “Do you want cancellation of anticipatory bail?”
“High Court has relied on media reports. Please examine the nature of the findings,” responded Advocate Luthra.
On May 31, the Telangana High Court granted anticipatory bail to YS Avinash Reddy in relation to the YS Vivekananda Reddy murder case.
The High Court stated that there was no direct evidence available to establish the petitioner’s involvement in a larger conspiracy, and that the case relied solely on hearsay evidence.
Additionally, it was observed that there were no allegations of interference by the petitioner in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation, tampering of evidence, or threatening of witnesses, except for the allegation of destruction of the crime scene.
The High Court had held that there was no justification for the custodial interrogation of the petitioner by the CBI authorities, which led to the granting of anticipatory bail.
Suneetha argued that the single-judge conducted a mini-trial and made comments on the merits of the case. She further asserted that as an MP, the accused had the ability to intimidate witnesses, considering his previous lack of cooperation with the investigating agency.
Vivekananda Reddy, a former Kadapa MP, was stabbed to death at his residence in March 2019. In 2020, the Andhra Pradesh High Court transferred the murder investigation to the CBI.
In November, the Apex Court transferred the trial of the murder case to a Special CBI Court in Hyderabad.
The Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction with the High Court’s delay in deciding the plea, despite previous orders from the apex court instructing the High Court to resolve the matter.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court directed a vacation bench of the Telangana High Court to hear and decide the plea, which resulted in the grant of bail to Avinash Reddy.
Furthermore, in another order issued in April, the Supreme Court overturned a Telangana High Court decision that had imposed limitations on the CBI during the interrogation of Avinash Reddy.
