Ex-minister murder: Telangana HC posts hearing on anticipatory bail plea of YSRCP MP to June 5

The Telangana High Court on Friday posted the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of YSR Congress Party Lok Sabha member Y S Avinash Reddy in connection with the case pertaining to the murder of former Andhra Pradesh Minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy to June 5. The court already heard the arguments put forth by the counsels of Avinash Reddy and Vivekananda Reddy's daughter Sunitha Reddy. The court is yet to hear the arguments of the CBI which has been investigating the case. The High Court will be closed for summer vacation from May 1 to June 2.

Avinash Reddy filed the anticipatory bail petition in the Telangana High Court ahead of appearing before the CBI on April 17. His father Y S Bhaskar Reddy, uncle of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, was arrested by the CBI on April 16 in connection with the murder of Vivekananda Reddy. Avinash Reddy is a nephew of Vivekananda Reddy and cousin of CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Earlier, in an interim order on the anticipatory bail plea of Avinash, the court asked him to cooperate with the central agency and directed that the YSRCP MP present himself at the CBI office between April 19 and April 25 for investigation.

The questions and answers shall be in printed/written form. The questionnaire may also be handed over to the petitioner and the questioning/interrogation shall be audio-video recorded, it had said. However, the Supreme Court on April 24 set aside the Telangana High Court order directing the CBI, probing the murder of Vivekananda Reddy, to provide a written questionnaire in advance to Avinash Reddy who is under the central agency's scanner.

Terming the high court order "unwarranted", a bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha quashed the direction that the HC had issued to the CBI.

Also Read: Y S Vivekananda Reddy murder case: SC sets aside HC's order allowing CBI to quiz Kadapa MP in Q&A form

The top court, however, said the high court could proceed with the hearing of Avinash Reddy's anticipatory bail plea on its merits. Vivekananda Reddy, one of the brothers of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was found murdered at his residence in Pulivendula in Kadapa district on the night of March 15, 2019, weeks before the Assembly elections in the state.

The murder case was initially probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state CID but was handed over to the CBI in July 2020. The CBI filed a charge sheet in the murder case on October 26, 2021 and followed it up with a supplementary charge sheet on January 31, 2022.