The High Court in Vijayawada on Friday directed all accused in the case involving alleged irregularities in liquor transportation to fully cooperate with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) conducting the probe. The court issued this directive while hearing anticipatory bail petitions filed by several key figures in the case.
Court Orders Appearance Before Investigating Officer
Justice Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa ordered the accused to appear before the investigating officer on April 30, in compliance with the notices already served to them. The directive applies to all individuals implicated in the matter.
Key Accused Seek Anticipatory Bail
Kesireddy Rajasekhar Reddy, identified as the prime accused in the liquor scam, moved the High Court seeking anticipatory bail. Former minister Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, along with his son Sunil and daughter-in-law Valluru Keerthi, also filed separate petitions for anticipatory bail. All three are accused in the same case.
During the hearing, Abhay Sidhant, representing the petitioners, argued that Rajasekhar Reddy could not appear before the SIT because Enforcement Directorate officials conducted searches at his residence from Friday morning. He further stated that there was no clarity on whether his client had been taken into custody or not.
Siddharth Agarwal, arguing on behalf of the prosecution, responded that they were unaware of the factual position regarding the claims made by the petitioner. He requested the court to direct the petitioners to submit written submissions for the court's consideration.
After hearing both sides, Justice Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa directed the petitioner's counsel to submit the details presented before the court in the form of a memo. The judge made it unequivocally clear that all accused must cooperate with the ongoing SIT investigation and appear before the investigating officer whenever required.
