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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Telangana government and state Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on a plea to shift the trial in the 2015 cash-for-votes against the Congress leader and others from Hyderabad to Bhopal.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta sought a response in the matter within four weeks on the plea by GuntaKandla Jagadish Reddy and three others.
The plea claimed it is imperative to ensure a free and fair trial to transfer the case from Hyderabad to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The plea claimed Reddy, who is the prime accused in the 2015 case, has become the Chief and Home Minister for the State of Telangana with 88 criminal cases pending against him.
When the accused has a direct control over the prosecution, it is understood that there cannot be any possibility for free and fair trial which is sine qua non of Article 21 of the Constitution, the plea said.
If the trial continued before the principal judge for trial of cases at Hyderabad, Telangana then the rule of law would be vitiated and the judicial fairness, criminal justice system would be at stake shaking the confidence of the public at large, it added.
The two cases against which the transfer was sought are Telangana through Addl. Superintendent of Police Vs A Revanth Reddy & Ors, and Telangana through Addl Superintendent of Police Vs Sandra Venkata Veeraiah. The cases are pending for trial before a special judge in Telangana.
The plea alleged that Reddy, was a former member of Telugu Desam Party and won the Legislative assembly election for the term 2009-14 and 2014-18 from Kodangal Assembly Constituency.
After being elected as MLA from Telugu Desam Party, the Accused No 1 offered a bribe of Rs 50 Lakhs as advance as directed by his former boss Nara Chandra Babu Naidu (former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh) to Elvis Stephenson/ de facto Complainant to abstain from casting his vote for the biennial election to be held on 01.06.2015 or to vote in favour of TDP party, the plea claimed.
