New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will appoint a special prosecutor to conduct trial in the 2015 cash-for-vote scam case in which Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is an accused. The top court was hearing a petition seeking transfer of the trial in the case from the state to Bhopal.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan said it will consult colleagues from Telangana and pass an order at 2 pm.

At the outset, senior advocate C Aryama Sundaram, appearing for Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy and three others, sought transfer of trial saying the Telangana CM has been publicly making statements on the case.

“Only on apprehension, how can we entertain…If we entertain such petitions, we will be disbelieving our judicial officers,” the bench observed.

Sundaram submitted that Telangana CM is himself the Home Minister.

“There is a rule of natural justice that no person should be a judge in his own cause,” he said.

The bench then said it will pass orders to appoint an independent public prosecutor to inspire confidence.

On May 31, 2015, Revanth Reddy, then with the Telugu Desam Party, was apprehended by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) while allegedly paying Rs 50 lakh bribe to Elvis Stephenson, a nominated MLA, for supporting TDP nominee Vem Narendar Reddy in the legislative council elections.

Apart from Revanth Reddy, the ACB had arrested some others. All of them were later granted bail.

The plea, seeking transfer of the trial to Bhopal, has raised the issue of a free and fair trial saying that Revanth Reddy has now become the chief minister as well as home minister of Telangana.

“Because a true and fair trial is sine qua non of Article 21 of the Constitution, which declares that a criminal trial has to be unbiased, and without any prejudice for or against the accused, the trial has to be impartial and uninfluenced which is the fundamental requirement of a fair trial and the first and the foremost imperative of the criminal justice delivery system,” stated the plea, filed through advocate P Mohith Rao.

It said if a criminal trial is not free and fair, the criminal justice system would undoubtedly be at stake, eroding the confidence of a common person in the system which would not augur well for the society at large.

“Because most of the prosecution witnesses were examined in chief and the accused no.1 being the chief (minister) and home minister for the State of Telangana can directly influence the de-facto complainant and officers pressurizing them to defer/resile from their earlier statements and further to depose false and there is every possibility that the officers/de-facto complainant will resile/defer from their earlier statements or will depose false under the threat,” the plea claimed.

The plea has also sought a transfer of the trial in another connected case from a court in Telangana to Bhopal.

On January 5, the top court had deferred till February the hearing of A Revanth Reddy’s separate petition challenging the high court order dismissing his plea questioning the jurisdiction of an ACB court in conducting the trial in the cash-for-vote scam case.

Revanth Reddy has challenged the June 1, 2021 order of the high court by which his plea questioning the jurisdiction of the special ACB court to conduct the trial in the case was dismissed.

In July 2015, the ACB had filed a charge sheet against Revanth Reddy and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The ACB had then claimed it has collected clinching evidence against the accused in the form of audio/video recordings, and recovered an advance amount of Rs 50 lakh. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Adilabad, Telangana:

Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is like an “elder brother” to the state, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy made his intentions clear that he would not like to confront the Centre but maintain cordial relations.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion of the PM laying the foundation stones for projects worth Rs 56,000 crore, Mr Reddy sought the PM’s cooperation in developing Telangana like Gujarat.

Telangana and its capital city Hyderabad, the fifth largest city in the country, would like to contribute to PM Modi’s ambitious goal of making India a $5 trillion economy, the Chief Minister said.

After a long time, a Telangana Chief Minister received PM Modi and shared the stage with him during an official event.

BRS chief and former state Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao skipped attending the PM’s official visits to the state several times in the past.

“Narendra Modi ji is the Prime Minister and that, according to us, means like our elder brother. If there is support from the elder brother, can Chief Ministers take forward development works in their respective states,” he said.

“That is why my request is, if Telangana has to be developed on the lines of Gujarat, your support is essential here,” the Congress Chief Minister said.

Mr Reddy said his government will extend all necessary operations and give clearances to the NTPC to complete the 4,000 MW power plant of which only 1,600 MW is now operational.

He further said that as per the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, the Centre has to set up a 4,000 MW power plant in Telangana. However, due to the doings of the previous BRS government, only 1,600 MW was completed in the last 10 years.

He said the people of the state will ultimately lose if there is friction between the Centre and the states. Politics should be limited to elections and after the polls, elected leaders should strive for the development of the states with the help of the Centre, he added.

PM Modi responded positively when he met him for clearances on some issues, Mr Reddy said.

The Chief Minister sought the PM’s cooperation in expanding the semiconductor industry in the state besides developing the Musi River.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)