Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao.
Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed an application before the court seeking production of former minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao’s passport in relation to the Formula E case, his lawyer said.
KTR’s advocate Jakkula Laxman rejected claims that the ACB had directed the Passport Authority to seize KTR’s passport and said only a memo seeking production of the passport has been filed.
“Today, some newspapers published incorrect news stating that the ACB Court has directed the Passport Authority to seize KTR’s passport. This is factually incorrect and appears to be a misrepresentation of the court proceedings and contempt proceedings. The ACB officers have only filed an application before the ACB Court seeking production of KTR’s passport.” the advocate said.
He added that they had received no notice and will file a counter after receiving one. “We will examine on what legal grounds and under what circumstances the ACB has filed the application.” he said.
KTR, along with IAS officer Arvind Kumar, former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) chief engineer BLN Reddy and former sports consultant Govenda Kiran Malleswara Rao, had appeared before the Nampally Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court on September 18.
However, since the accused officials of Formula E failed to appear, the matter was adjourned to October 30.
The case pertains to the alleged corruption of nearly Rs 55 crore during the former BRS government’s Formula E deal.
Soon after coming to power, the Congress government claimed that KTR, during his tenure as the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister, allowed the transfer of Rs 55 crore from HMDA to the Formula E Operations, without the approval of the Cabinet.
Arvind Kumar served as the special chief secretary of the MAUD department at the time.
The ACB had filed a chargesheet on March 23 this year, naming KTR as accused number one, Arvind Kumar as accused number two and BLN Reddy as accused number three.
Sports consultant Govenda Kiran Malleswara Rao was named as accused number four, and Formula E Operations as accused number five.
On February 11, 2023, the first Formula E race was held at the banks of Hussain Sagar. Following the success of this event, MAUD had entered into an agreement with Formula E Operations (FEO) for another race scheduled for February 10, 2024.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) paid Rs 55 crore to FEO as part of the agreement, which was established during the BRS tenure.
However, FEO later announced its withdrawal from hosting the race in January 2024, citing non-compliance with the terms of the agreement. At the time the agreement was signed, BRS was in power. However, following the 2024 elections, the Congress government came to power before FEO decided to cancel the event.
This post was last modified on September 29, 2026 2:53 pm