The Telangana High Court on Tuesday declined to a hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea that sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the death of former Andhra Pradesh Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, who had killed himself earlier this month at his residence in Hyderabad.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy which was hearing the plea, questioned the locus standi of the petitioner Anil Kumar, and asked how he was directly concerned with the senior politician's death.
The court pointed out that if there were suspicions over the death, it was the decision of the immediate next of kin, or other close family members, who should file a plea. Stating that there was no public interest involved, the court dismissed the plea.
Kodela, a senior politician who served in the cabinets of Chandrababu Naidu and TDP founder NT Rama Rao, killed himself at his residence in Hyderabad earlier this week, which triggered a massive political slugfest in the state.
Last week, a delegation of senior TDP leaders, led by Naidu, called on Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan in Vijayawada, demanding a probe by the CBI, into Kodela's death.
Terming Kodela's death a 'murder', Chandrababu Naidu said that alleged harassment by the YSRCP government pushed him to end his life.
Kodela Rao and his son Sivarama Krishna were booked by the Andhra Pradesh police on August 24, under Section 409 (Criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC, for diverting Assembly furniture to premises owned by them, in Guntur district.
However, after Kodela's death, letters written by him have surfaced, which showed that he wanted to pay for the furniture or return it.
The TDP has questioned why the Secretary went ahead and filed a police complaint in August despite receiving a letter from Kodela in June about the furniture.
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