- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to grant anticipatory bail to K. Dhanunjaya Reddy, a retired IAS officer and former secretary of former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, and Krishna Mohan Reddy, a former Officer on Special Duty (OSD), in connection with the Andhra Pradesh liquor scam that allegedly took place during YSR Congress Party rule.
A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan refused to interfere with an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court rejecting their anticipatory bail pleas.
However, the Justice Pardiwala-led Bench clarified that if the accused are arrested, their regular bail applications will be considered on their own merits.
“The principles for grant of anticipatory bail differ from the grant of anticipatory bail. It is for the court concerned to apply the correct principles of law for the grant of regular bail,” it said.
In an interim order passed on Tuesday, the apex court had asked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Andhra Pradesh liquor scam to not arrest the former bureaucrats till Friday (May 16) on the condition that the duo will join the investigation and fully cooperate.
With the disposal of the special leave petitions (SLPs) filed before the Supreme Court, the aides of former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy are likely to face custodial interrogation.
Last week, the Andhra Pradesh HC had denied bail to the former bureaucrats, citing the preliminary stage of the investigation into the alleged scam of Rs 3,200 crore.
Dhanunjaya Reddy and Krishna Mohan Reddy, accused numbers 31 and 32, respectively, in the case, have been grilled by the SIT about the recipients of kickbacks from the distillery companies.
The SIT arrested Govindappa Balaji, Director of Bharathi Cements Corporation, in Karnataka on Tuesday. He was brought to Vijayawada and produced before the ACB Court, which sent him to judicial custody till May 20.
