Telugu Desam Party MLA Revanth Reddy has been given an interim relief for a day. Anti-corruption Branch (ACB) sleuths conducted searches at his residence on Tuesday and arrested two persons in connection with the cash-for-votes case.
The court has granted him relief to attend the engagement ceremony of his daughter.
The prosecution (ACB) also did not object to the interim bail application saying that it should be considered with the condition that Reddy will be escorted by police while attending the ceremony.
The court allowed interim bail for Reddy from 6 AM to 6 PM on Thursday on the condition that he should not to speak to media during this period.
Reddy and two others--Sebastian Harry and Uday Simha-- were arrested on May 30 by the Anti-Corruption Bureau while they were allegedly trying to bribe Rs 50 lakh to nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote for TDP nominee in the Telangana Legislative Council polls.
The TDP has alleged that this was part of a conspiracy to malign its leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu. Party functionaries lodged a flurry of complaints against Telengana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Hitting back, Rao’s party TRS has dared Naidu to face a lie-detection test and prove his innocence instead of “whipping up regional passions.”
While arguing on the main bail plea Reddy’s counsel submitted that there is no likelihood of tampering with evidence and he (Reddy) is not going to abscond and already all material is in custody of the investigating agency.
However, special public prosecutor V Surender Rao, appearing for ACB, opposed Reddy’s main bail petition of on the ground that investigation in the case is at a very crucial stage.
After interrogation of the accused during the four-day police custody period there are certain leads that need to be verified and evidence has to be collected.. besides the trail of the seized money of Rs 50 lakhs has been examined and its source also. Apart from this, amount of Rs 4.50 crore was promised...from where that amount was to be sourced also needs to be verified.
– V Surender Rao, Special Public Prosecutor
After hearing the arguments, the court rejected the main bail petition of Reddy, who is in judicial custody till June 15 along with Harry and Uday Simha in the case.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)