Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Thursday commenced hearing on a criminal petition moved by AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu challenging an order passed by the ACB Court ordering a probe into the role of other accused in the cash-for-vote scam.
The ACB court has earlier directed the TS ACB to probe the role of other accused in the case based on a complaint of YSR Congress MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy.
A single judge of the High Court stayed the order of ACB Court. When Mr Ramakrishna Reddy moved the Supreme Court against the stay, the Apex Court had remanded the matter to the High Court requesting it to dispose of the case within four weeks.
Supreme Court senior counsel Siddhartha Luthra, appearing for Mr Naidu before Justice T. Sunil Chowdary, told the court that despite knowing that the law does not permit issuance of a second FIR in the same case, the special court granted an order for the fresh probe under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC.
Relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court in T.T. Anthony versus state of Kerala, the senior counsel submitted that despite pendency of the investigation of other accused in the case and also the fact of filing of charge sheet against some of the accused in the case, the special court, without going into the facts of the case, just issued the order under the Section 156 (3).
He submitted that while quashing case against one Jerusalem Mathaiah, one of the accused in this case, the High Court categorically ruled that the charges of abetment of corruption would not be attracted against accused in this case as the alleged abetment was not related to an official functioning but is related to an election. The arguments will continue on Monday.
