Political Storm Erupts as Telangana Governor Clears KTR Prosecution
Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Verma has given his official approval to prosecute Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao in the controversial Hyderabad Formula E case. The decision, announced on Thursday, November 20, 2025, marks a significant escalation in the political battle between the ruling Congress party and the opposition BRS.
The state's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had formally sought the Governor's permission on September 9 to initiate prosecution proceedings against Rao, who is popularly known as KTR. The case centers around alleged financial irregularities in the organization of the Hyderabad Formula E electric car racing event held in February 2023.
The Core Allegations and Financial Details
According to the ACB's First Information Report (FIR), the case involves the alleged unauthorized transfer of Rs 45 crore to a foreign company, Formula-E Organisers (FOE). The payments were made in two installments in British pounds during February 2023, when KTR served as the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) minister in his father K Chandrasekhar Rao's government.
The ACB has charged that KTR failed to obtain necessary clearance from the state Cabinet before authorizing then MAUD principal secretary Arvind Kumar to make the payment to the foreign entity. This alleged procedural violation resulted in the Reserve Bank of India imposing an Rs 8 crore fine on the Telangana government for foreign exchange rule violations.
Interestingly, this penalty was ultimately paid by the current Congress government led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy after it came to power in December 2023. The new administration discovered the alleged financial irregularities during its investigation into the reasons behind the RBI penalty.
Political Fallout and Accusations
The case has become a major political flashpoint in Telangana. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had previously accused the BJP of attempting to "save" KTR, claiming that the prosecution file had been pending with the Governor for two months. Reddy raised this issue during his campaign for the recent Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll, which the Congress party ultimately won.
The BRS has vehemently denied all allegations, with party leader T Harish Rao, who is also KTR's cousin, describing the case as "the peak of political vendetta." In a social media post, Rao accused CM Reddy of fabricating cases to silence opposition voices and gain political advantage ahead of local body elections.
Legal Proceedings and Defense
KTR has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation. He publicly acknowledged authorizing the transactions but insisted they were made in the interest of hosting the Formula E race and enhancing Hyderabad's global brand image. The BRS leader argued that the payments were properly authorized and that he acted in his capacity as vice-president of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), which he claims operates independently without requiring Finance Department or Cabinet approval.
In a significant legal development, the Telangana High Court has issued an interim order directing the ACB not to arrest KTR until further notice. The BRS working president had approached the court seeking to quash the FIR entirely.
The case has also attracted the attention of central agencies. Based on the ACB's FIR, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned KTR on December 28, 2024, to appear before them on January 7, 2025. The ED is investigating potential violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Other accused in the case include Arvind Kumar, the former MAUD principal secretary, and BLN Reddy, the former HMDA chief engineer. The ACB is currently awaiting Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) clearance to prosecute Arvind Kumar, after which it plans to file a comprehensive charge sheet against all three accused.
The Hyderabad E-Prix marked India's first-ever electric car racing event of its kind. However, the controversy surrounding the 2023 event led to the cancellation of the 2024 race, as the new Congress government decided not to honor the Host City Agreement.
