Following days of speculation over YSRCP MP YS Avinash Reddy’s impending arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the murder case of his uncle and former MP YS Vivekananda Reddy, the Telangana High Court has provided relief to the MP by giving him conditional anticipatory bail on Wednesday, May 31. While the full judgement order is yet to come, the court has asked Avinash to appear before the CBI whenever they wish to investigate him in the case. Avinash had approached the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail from CBI’s arrest. Justice M Laxman, who pronounced the verdict, reportedly directed Avinash to appear before the CBI every Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm till the end of June.
Kadapa MP Avinash, who is a second cousin of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been questioned in connection with the case by the CBI multiple times so far but has been evading its summons since May 16. The CBI mentioned in its affidavit to the High Court that so far, Avinash had given "evasive replies" and did not cooperate with the investigation. After hearing arguments for two days on May 26 and 27, the court reserved its verdict, saying it would be pronounced on May 31.
Earlier on Friday, as the High Court began hearing his anticipatory bail petition, Avinash arrived in Hyderabad along with his ailing mother, who was admitted to a hospital in Gachibowli. For about a week, Avinash had remained holed up in a private hospital in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool, saying he had to attend to his mother who was undergoing treatment there. The CBI told the court that its officials had gone to Kurnool on Monday, May 22, to arrest Avinash and had even sought help from the Kurnool district Superintendent of Police, but Avinash's supporters had gathered in huge numbers outside the hospital, sparking concerns of law and order problems.
Avinash is a second cousin of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, while the murdered former MP Vivekananda is their uncle. Since the CBI — which has been investigating the murder case since July 2020 — implicated Avinash and his father YS Bhaskar Reddy in the murder case, CM Jagan has been accused of attempting to shield Avinash from the probe agency by his critics and Opposition leaders. The CBI had arrested Avinash’s father YS Bhaskar Reddy on April 16.
Avinash, who had appeared for questioning in front of the CBI several times over the past few weeks, had skipped summons thrice since May 16. With Avinash failing to appear before the agency for a third time on May 22, CBI officials arrived in Kurnool, where Avinash’s mother was undergoing treatment at the Viswa Bharathi Super Speciality Hospital and Avinash had stayed holed up for the past week.
A tense atmosphere prevailed outside the hospital on May 22, with YSRCP supporters gathering in large numbers amid reports of Avinash’s impending arrest. Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were deployed in large numbers to prevent law and order problems.
Avinash wrote to the CBI officials on the same day, seeking exemption from appearing for questioning till May 27 citing his mother’s poor health, and the fact that his father Bhaskar Reddy was in jail which made his presence at his mother’s side essential. He also mentioned that a place related to his anticipatory bail petition was pending before the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, May 23, the Supreme Court directed the Telangana High Court to place Avinash’s anticipatory bail plea before the vacation bench of the HC on May 25. A bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha said that the SC was not happy with the high court not passing an order after the apex court's order and added, "How much time does it require to pass an order in anticipatory bail?" While the case listed for Thursday, it came up for hearing only on Friday, and the verdict was delivered on Saturday.
Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of CM Jagan, was murdered at his residence in Pulivendula on March 15, 2019, weeks before the Assembly elections.
CBI has told the Telangana High Court on multiple occasions that Bhaskar, Avinash and their follower Devireddy Shiva Shankar Reddy hatched a conspiracy to murder Vivekananda Reddy over various reasons, including the belief that he had opposed giving the Kadapa ticket to Avinash for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Avinash has denied the allegations against him and his father and alleged that the CBI ignored several key facts in the case.
With IANS inputs