Hyderabad: Bandi Sai Bageerath withdrew his anticipatory bail petition from the Telangana High Court on Wednesday, May 20, after being arrested in a POCSO case registered at Pet Basheerabad Police Station.
Bageerath’s counsel, N Naveen Kumar, submitted a memo before the High Court registry seeking permission to withdraw the petition, stating that no further orders were required in the matter. The petition was accordingly listed for withdrawal on Thursday, May 21, according to Deccan Chronicle.
His withdrawal request came a day before the High Court was set to pronounce its order on the bail plea.
Bandi Bageerath failed to get interim relief in HC
Justice T Madhavi Devi, who had heard the anticipatory bail petition over marathon proceedings stretching to nearly midnight on May 15, declined to grant any interim protection from arrest, saying she was not inclined to pass any interim order at that stage.
During those proceedings, counsel for Bageerath had argued that the court hearing the bail petition had inherent power to grant interim bail pending final disposal, and had sought protection from arrest until orders were issued.
He also submitted that the victim’s mother, who is the complainant in the case, had stated that her daughter had entered into a relationship with the accused in 2025 and that there had been a cordial relationship between them.
Opposing any relief, counsel for the victim contended that Bageerath’s father, Union minister Bandi Sanjay, was an influential person and that there was a real possibility of evidence being tampered with.
A day later, on May 16, Bageerath was arrested by the Telangana Police.
Bandi Bageerath case
The case was registered on May 8 under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on a complaint filed by the mother of a 17-year-old girl alleging that Bageerath had been in a relationship with her daughter and sexually harassed her. More stringent POCSO sections were subsequently invoked after the victim’s statement was recorded.
Bageerath had also filed a counter-complaint with police in Karimnagar, alleging that the girl’s family had pressured him to marry her and, when he refused, demanded money and threatened to file false complaints. He alleged he paid Rs 50,000 to the girl’s father under duress, after which the family purportedly raised their demand to Rs 5 crore.
