YS Vivekananda Reddy Murder | Supreme Court Stays Telangana HC Order Which Limited Gangi Reddy’s Custody Till June 30

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Telangana High Court order which directed that T Gangi Reddy, accused in the YS Vivekananda Reddy murder case, be released on bail from July 1.

A vacation bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha stayed the High Court direction till July 14.

The direction was passed in a petition filed by Suneetha Nareddy, daughter of YS Vivekananda Reddy(uncle of present Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy), challenging the said High Court order.

The bench, while noting that it did not wish to "rush the matter" stayed the Telangana High Court order and decided to hear the matter on July 10 2023 post summer vacations.

Earlier this week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had questioned the order of the Telangana High Court which granted bail to Yerra Gangi Reddy. The CBI had argued that the order was inherently contradictory as it cancelled bail but also allowed for the bail. 

In the impugned order passed on April 27 2023, a single bench of Justice Chillakur Sumalatha had directed Yerra Gangi Reddy to surrender before the CBI on May 5. However, in the same order the Court had also directed that Gangi Reddy should be released on bail on July 1. As per the order, since the Supreme Court had given the CBI time till June 30 to complete its investigation into the murder case, there was no point denying Mr. Yerra Gangi Reddy his liberty beyond that point of time.

Appearing for the petitioner Suneetha Nareddy today, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra said–

"CBI's affidavit states that High Court order sets a bad precedent. It also comments on the state of the investigation...Supreme Court while sending it back to High Court said that it seems that state was dragging its feet and protecting this gentleman. That's the reason for default bail."

Stating that the court did not wish to rush through the matter, the bench held–

"Re-list on 14.07.2023. Till then, the direction issued in the impugned order dated 27.04.2023, “The Court of Principal Special Judge for CBI Cases, Hyderabad, is directed to enlarge the petitioner on bail on 01.07.2023, on his executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/-(Rupees One Lakh only) with two sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the said Court” shall remain stayed."

Background

YS Vivekananda Reddy, a member of the Indian National Congress and brother of the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula in Kadapa district in 2019. The case was initially probed by a special investigation team (SIT) of the state crime investigation department, but was handed over in July 2020 to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which filed a charge sheet in October 2021 and a supplementary charge sheet in January 2022.

In November last year, the apex court had directed the trial of Vivekananda Reddy’s murder to be transferred from Andhra Pradesh to a special CBI court in Hyderabad, noting that the apprehensions raised by his wife and daughter regarding derailment of a fair trial were reasonable.

Case Title: Suneetha Nareddy v. T. Gangi Reddy SLP(Crl) No. 6294/2023

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