HC Allows Advocate to Accompany KTR For ACB Inquiry

The Telangana High Court today allowed one advocate to accompany BRS working president K T Rama Rao to the ACB office for the questioning session scheduled for Thursday.

However, in a restriction that perhaps defeats the purpose of having a lawyer, the court said that the lawyer should not be able to hear the questioning, only see it.

Hearing a lunch motion moved by KTR earlier in the day, the court said that the BRS leader's counsel should be seated at a distance from where KTR and the latter could see each other, but from where the lawyer could not hear the exchanges.

When the State Additional Advocate General (AAG) Tera Rajinikanth Reddy, appearing for the ACB, objected arguing that a lawyer should not be allowed, Justice K Laxman pointed out that the same court had, in another case, ruled that MP Avinash Reddy should be accompanied by a lawyer during his CBI inquiry.

"Why is there an objection if the lawyer is allowed?" the court asked. "If KTR and the investigating officer are in a room, the lawyer will sit in another room so that both of them can be seen," it said.

The court directed the AAG to determine whether the necessary facilites were in place at the ACB office in this regard. The AAG said in response that the ACB's library was capable.

The court also said that if he had any complaint of any procedural irregularity on the part of the ACB, KTR was free to approach the court at any time, but preferably at around 1:30 pm.

It also said that if KTR had any doubts, he could approach the HC again after Thursday's hearing.

The court also declined KTR's request to record the ACB interrogation in audio or video format.

KTR's lawyer informed the court that senior advocate Ramachandra Rao would accompany KTR for the inquiry.