Top Court asks Telangana High Court's vacation bench to decide MP Avinash Reddy anticipatory bail application

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Synopsis

Last month, a CJI Chandrachud led bench had set aside the interim protection granted to Avinash Reddy, while asking the High Court to hear his anticipatory bail plea. 

A vacation bench of the Supreme Court today has directed the Telangana High Court to decide the anticipatory filed by Member of Parliament YS Avinash Reddy, accused in murder case of YS Vivekananda Reddy.

Bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha has asked the High Court to place the plea before its vacation bench on May 25, 2023.

Notably, the High court had taken up Reddy's bail plea but no orders were passed. On hearing this, the top court's vacation bench said today that it was not happy with the High Court's actions of not passing an order after the Supreme Court's order on the issue.

"How much time does it require to pass an order in anticipatory bail?", Justice Narasimha said.

Senior Advocate VV Giri, appearing for Avinash Reddy further told the bench today that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had issued notices to his client.

On April 24, the Supreme Court had set aside the Telangana High Court order whereby the CBI was directed to conduct the investigation in the murder case of YS Vivekananda Reddy, by giving a proposed questionnaire to accused MP YS Avinash Reddy.

"An order of this nature will stultify the investigation. High Court cannot order investigation of a suspect should be in written form and this is completely inappropriate to order this questionnaire to be given to first respondent. Such orders prejudice the investigation especially when CBI is ascertaining the role of several accused. These directions of High Court were unwarranted and are set aside", a bench of CJI Chandrachud and Justice Narasimha had observed.

The bench had also set aside the interim protection granted to Reddy. Furthermore, the court had refused to accept Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar's submission that protection for 24 hrs be granted to the accused politician 

Vivekananda Reddy was a member of the Indian National Congress and the brother of the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Reddy was found to have been murdered at his house is Kadapa district in March 2019.

The case was initially probed by a special investigation team (SIT) of the state crime investigation department but was later handed over in July 2020 to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which filed a charge sheet in October 2021 and a supplementary charge sheet in January 2022.

In October 2021, CBI had submitted a chargesheet before Judicial Magistrate First Class. The chargesheet submitted Avinash Reddy and his father as suspects in the conspiracy to commit murder of the deceased.

Case Title:  Suneetha Narreddy vs. YS Avinash Reddy