Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday, September 24, issued fresh summons to Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy in the ‘cash for vote’ case of 2015, asking him to appear before it on October 16.
Coincidentally, it is also on October 16, that the Nampally Metropolitan Criminal Court has directed all the accused in the same case, including Revanth Reddy, to attend the hearing.
During the hearing of the case on Tuesday, the ACB court at Nampally took strong note of the absence of the accused, except Mathaiah Jerusalem.
The counsels of Revanth Reddy, Uday Simha, Vem Krishna Keerthan, and Venkata Veeraiah, sought an exemption from the hearing on Tuesday, as the accused failed to appear. While accepting the request, the court directed all the accused to be present in the court during the next hearing on October 16.
The development came four days after the Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA G Jagadish Reddy, seeking the transfer of the trial in the case to a court outside Telangana.
The top court had observed that even if the case was transferred to another court, the investigative agency, which is the anti-corruption bureau, will not change. While the counsel for the petitioner argued that since Revanth Reddy was also holding the home portfolio, he could influence the investigation, as the ACB came under the home department.
Revanth Reddy’s counsel had told the court that the BRS leaders filed the plea with a ‘political motive’.
A bench comprising justice BR Gavai and justice KV Viswanathan had directed that the director general of the anti-corruption bureau would not report to the chief minister about the prosecution of the case. The court had also asked the petitioner to approach it if he has any evidence on the chief minister interfering with, or influencing the case.
It is also interesting to note that on August 29, the Supreme Court had said that it was appointing a special prosecutor to conduct the hearing in the case in the apex court. That move happened right after Revanth Reddy’s remarks on the bail granted to BRS MLC K Kavitha in the Delhi Liquor Policy case on August 28. The top court had taken strong objection to his remarks, after which Revanth Reddy had tendered an apology.
The cash for vote case dates back to May 31, 2015, when K Chandrashekar Rao was in power. Revanth Reddy, who was then in the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), had approached a sitting MLA Elvis Stephenson, allegedly offering him a bribe of Rs 50 lakh, in exchange for his vote in the Member of Legislative Council (MLC) elections.
The ACB video recordings purportedly showed Revanth and two of his aides offering Rs 50 lakh to Stephenson, when the police officers swooped down to arrest them. Revanth Reddy was granted bail by the High Court on July 1, 2015.
Revanth Reddy, however, denied that he was trying to bribe the nominated MLA. He claimed that the MLA had called him to his house to discuss a business deal.
The ACB had filed a charge-sheet against Revanth Reddy and the other accused for corruption and criminal conspiracy.
In 2017, Revanth Reddy quit TDP to join the Congress party.
(With inputs from IANS)
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