[DRAFT] [Y S Vivekananda Reddy Murder Case] Supreme Court Transfers Case to ??

A Supreme Court Bench of Justice M.R. Shah and Justice M.M. Sundresh, after hearing all the arguments has transferred the murder case of former MP and YSR Congress party leader Y S Vivekananda Reddy, to Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. However, the Bench has reserved its judgment in the petition preferred by Sunnetha Narreddy (daughter of Y.S Vivekananda Reddy).

To ensure a free and fair investigation, without any bias, and to ensure protection of the CBI officials investigating the matter, transfer of case and investigation, to another State was sought for.

CBI had submitted before the Court that the case may be transferred to any State other than Telangana, to which Counsels for petitioner submitted that they want to get their case transferred, and have no issues if it is to be to Telangana.

Court even sought a response from the Counsels for the accused in the matter, and their opinion on the transfer of case to either Karnataka or Telangana.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared on behalf of the petitioners, ASG K.M Nataraj appeared on behalf of the CBI, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Guru Krishnakumar, appeared on behalf of the Impleaders, and Senior Advocate S. Niranjan Reddy appeared on behalf of the State.

Background: Vivekananda Reddy, an Indian National Congress leader, was allegedly brutally murdered and found at his residence in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh on 15 March 2019.

In January 2020, Vivekananda Reddy’s daughter filed a writ petition in High Court seeking a CBI investigation and expressed doubts over the investigation by SIT constituted by the State Government. She alleged suspicions of Y. S. Avinash Reddy, who was one of the first to arrive at the murder scene.

Avinash Reddy is the son of YS Bhaskar Reddy, brother of Vivekananda Reddy and cousin of Jagan Mohan Reddy, the present Chief Minister of the State of Andhra Pradesh.

Thereafter, the CBI took over the investigation into the case in 2020 on the direction of the High Court. 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. The matter is yet to conclude.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court had dismissed the criminal petition, early this year, filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking cancellation of bail granted to Yerra Gangi Reddy, a prime suspect in Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy murder case.

Case Title: Suneetha Narreddy and Anr. vs The Central Bureau of Investigation and Ors.