MLA Poaching Case: High Court Dismisses SIT's Appeal

The Telangana High Court on Monday dismissed an appeal by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) challenging the order of a special ACB court which had set aside a memo to arraign BJP national General Secretary B L Santhosh and three others as accused in the MLAs' poaching case.

Last month, the ACB special court had rejected the memo petition, observing that neither the police nor the SIT were competent to investigate offences relating to the Prevention of Corruption Act, and that only the Special Police Establishment / Anti-Corruption Bureau was the competent authority. The SIT had challenged this in the High Court.

Arguing in the High Court today, Advocate General B S Prasad submitted that the ACB court had crossed its limits with the order rejecting the memo.

He also submitted to the court that the SIT had decided to add Santhosh, Kerala politician Tushar Vellapally, Kerala-based doctor Jaggu Swamy and lawyer B Srinivas as accused in the case on the basis of evidence found against them during the course of investigation.

For the unversed, three alleged agents of the BJP were arrested by the Cyberabad police from a farmhouse at Moinabad near Hyderabad on the night of October 26 when they were allegedly trying to lure four MLAs of the BRS to defect with offers of huge money.

The Cyberabad police had conducted the raid on a tip-off by BRS MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy. Reddy had alleged that the accused had offered Rs 100 crore to him and Rs 50 crore to each of the three others.

The SIT headed by Hyderabad Police Commissioner C V Anand had served notices to Santhosh and the others for questioning.

The High Court had on December 1 granted bail to three accused in the case. And on the petitions by the accused, the High Court had on December 26 transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation and set aside the Government Order constituting the SIT.