The Andhra Pradesh government assured the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday that the process of withdrawing criminal cases against ruling TDP leaders would not be taken forward.

This comes after the HC asked the state government to provide details of cases booked against TDP leaders, which were going to be dropped, after the state issued a number of Government Orders (GOs). 

The court was hearing a petition by YSRCP MLA A Ramakrishna Reddy, who had challenged the state government's move.

The Deccan Chronicle reported that AP Advocate-General Dammalapati Srinivas submitted the details of the GOs and said that they were issued over the past three years, but surfaced after the petitioner clubbed them together due to 'political rivalry'. 

He also contended that the Supreme Court had ruled that the state government had the power to withdraw the cases.

“It is not correct to say that the state is en mass issuing GOs and the trial courts are closing the cases without hearing them. We shall file a counter on behalf of the state if two weeks is given to us,“ the AG was quoted as saying.

However, the court bench said that it saw merit in the petitioner's case, and asked the AG to file a counter in three weeks.

It was earlier reported that 273 cases against TDP leaders were being withdrawn, including cases against Deputy CMs KE Krishnamurthy and N Chinarajappa, Speaker K. Siva Prasada Rao, and Ministers D. Umamaheswara Rao, K. Ravindra, N. Anand Babu, K. Atchannaidu and G. Srinivasa Rao.

While minister K. Atchannaidu had a molestation case against him, an attempt to murder case was pending against minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, according to reports.