A Vijayawada court has directed former Andhra Pradesh BJP chief Kanna Lakshminarayana, his wife and son to pay Rs 1 crore compensation to his daughter-in-law in a domestic violence case. The Vijayawada First Additional Chief Metropolitan Court also directed the police to provide protection to the petitioner, Srilakshmi Keerti. The former minister, his wife Kanna Vijayalakshmi and their son Kanna Nagaraju have also been ordered to provide accommodation to Keerti and her daughter in their house and, in case of failure to do so, pay Rs 50,000 per month.
Kanna Nagaraju and Keerti got married in May 2006, and their daughter was born in 2013. However, later, Keerti filed a domestic violence case against her husband and in-laws. Keerti had alleged that her husband hit her once in 2015, and that she faced harassment at the hands of her mother-in-law. Keerti had pleaded for protection to her and her daughter from the respondents besides seeking action against them under Domestic Violence Act, accommodation and treatment expenses.
Apart from the compensation and accommodation expenses, the magistrate has also asked the respondents to pay Keerti Rs 50,000 for her daughter's treatment. Directing the respondents to pay the amounts in three months, the court, in the order passed on Wednesday, January 19, made it clear that if they failed to do so in the specified period they will have to pay 12% interest.
Kanna Lakshminarayana served as a minister in the Congress governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh from 1991 to 1994 and from 2004 to 2014. After the division of the state, he joined the BJP and was made party's Andhra Pradesh unit president in 2018. Kanna Nagaraju has also served as Mayor of Guntur in the past.