The Hyderabad High Court granted respite to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in cash for vote scam by allowing his quash petition against an order passed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau special court.
The ACB special court had directed the probe agency to re-investigate the case, in which Telangana TDP MLA Revanth Reddy and other party leaders were involved.
The court had issued the order on a private complaint filed by YSRC MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who alleged involvement of Chandrababu Naidu in the case.
The ACB was ordered to reopen the case under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC, which empowers the magistrate to check police performance and monitor it besides naming persons mentioned in the complaint as accused.
Aggrieved by the order, Chandrababu Naidu had moved a criminal petition seeking to quash the order passed by the ACB court, contending that the court has erroneously granted the order in a pending case in which the ACB sleuths have already filed charge sheet against some of the accused and investigation is still on over alleged role of other accused.
Siddhartha Luthra, senior counsel appearing for AP CM, argued that there is no provision under the criminal jurisprudence for issuance of second FIR when an investigation is pending in a case and there is also no scope to allow intervention of a third party who is no way connected with the alleged offence in a case pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Luthra contended that the complaint was purely based on political vengeance.
After hearing the arguments, Justice T Sunil Chowdary quashed the order passed by the ACB court. He also made it clear that the order will not preclude the ACB to go ahead with the investigation pending against other accused in the case.
In May 2015, Revanth Reddy was caught red-handed by ACB authorities while he was offering bribe to TRS MLA Stephenson.
