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The Special Judicial First Class Magistrate (Spl JFCM) for Excise Cases in Hyderabad has issued a non-bailable warrant against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
The special court that deals with cases against MPs and MLAs issued the warrant on Thursday, July 24, after Bandi Sanjay failed to appear before the court in a case related to a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the 2021 Huzurabad Assembly bye-election.
During the bye-poll campaign, Bandi Sanjay accused the then-ruling TRS (now BRS) of distributing bribes of Rs 20,000 per vote. He urged voters to accept the money but cast their ballots in favour of the BJP instead, leading to a case being filed against him.
The Huzurabad bye-election saw an intense battle between the TRS and the BJP. The byepoll was necessitated after sitting MLA Eatala Rajender resigned following his unceremonious removal as Minister and suspension from the TRS over land encroachment allegations. Eatala subsequently joined the BJP and retained the seat.
At the hearing on July 24, Bandi Sanjay’s lawyer informed the court that he could not appear for the hearing due to the ongoing Parliament session, The Times of India reported. However, since he has not obeyed multiple past directives asking him to appear before the court, the magistrate reportedly issued the non-bailable warrant.
The magistrate adjourned the case to July 30, according to Deccan Chronicle.