Hyderabad High Court Quashes ACB Court Order Against AP CM 

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday got respite from the Hyderabad High Court after it allowed a quash petition filed by him against an order passed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau special court.

The case pertains to the ‘Cash for Vote scam’ in which Telangana TDP MLA Revanth Reddy and other party leaders were caught red handed by the ACB while offering a bribe to TRS MLA Stephenson in May of 2015.

The ACB special court had directed the probe agency to reinvestigate the case after a private complaint was filed by YSRC MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who alleged the involvement of Chandrababu Naidu in the case.

The ACB was ordered to reopen the case under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC, which besides naming persons mentioned in the complaint as accused, empowers the magistrate to check police performance and monitor it.

Not pleased with the order, Chandrababu Naidu had moved a criminal petition seeking to quash the order passed by the ACB court. He contended that the Court had erroneously granted the order in a pending case in which the ACB sleuths have already filed charge sheet against some of the accused and investigation is still on over alleged role of other accused.

After hearing the arguments, Justice T Sunil Chowdary quashed the order passed by the ACB court.

He however made it clear that the order will not preclude the ACB to go ahead with the investigation pending against other accused in the case.