The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to YSR Congress Party’s Lok Sabha member from Kadapa Avinash Reddy on a plea challenging the Telangana High court order granting him anticipatory bail in the alleged murder of YS Vivekanand Reddy.

Vivekananda Reddy was a former Andhra Pradesh minister, Lok Sabha member, uncle of incumbent Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and brother of late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

Posting the matter for hearing on July 3, when another related matter is listed for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, a vacation bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice MM Sunderash issued notice on the plea by Dr Suneetha Narreddy challenging May 31 Telangana High Court order granting pre-arrest bail to Avinash Reddy.

Dr Suneetha Narreddy is the daughter of the deceased Vivekananda Reddy.

Appearing for petitioner Dr Suneetha Reddy, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra told the vacation bench that Avinash Reddy is not cooperating in the investigation of the case by the Central Bureau of Investigation which was asked by the top court to complete the probe by June 30, 2023.

Luthra told the vacation bench that the Andhra Pradesh High court had handed over the investigation to CBI and on the direction of the top court trial in the case was transferred from Andhra Pradesh to Telangana. Before the case was entrusted to the CBI for investigation, it was being probed by the State police.

In the last hearting of the matter on June 13, a vacation bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah had observed that it was for the CBI to say that Avinash Reddy was not cooperating in the investigation of the case and the kind of interrogation they want him to be subjected.

Avinash Reddy, who is accused number 8 in the case of Vivekanand Reddy’s murder. Suneetha Reddy had in the last hearing told the court that Avinash Reddy was the main conspirator in her father’s murder.

Challenging the May 31 order of Telangana High Court granting anticipatory bail to Avinash Reddy – Lok Sabha member from Kadapa parliamentary constituency – in connection with the YS Vivekananda Reddy murder case, the petitioner Suneetha Narreddy has sought an “ex-parte ad interim” stay of May 31 judgment and the order. She has challenged the High Court order on different counts.

She has also sought extension of time to the CBI for completing the investigation into the larger conspiracy in the alleged murder of Vivekanand Reddy. The top court by its April 24, 2023, order had directed the CBI to conclude the investigation by June 30, 2023.

Challenging the High Court order, petitioner Suneetha Narreddy has sought the cancellation of Avinash Reddy’s anticipatory bail on ten counts that includes non-cooperation and obstruction in investigation, evasion of arrest, destruction of evidence from the scene of evidence, projecting a story that deceased Vivekanand Reddy had died of cardiac failure, pressurising police not to act (consequently High Court entrusted the investigation to CBI on March 11, 2020), given his clout in the ruling party, was influencing the investigation, misuse and abuse of the State machinery, threatening and influencing the witnesses, transfer of trial from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad in Telangana on the orders of top court, and the intimidation of the investigating officers.

Assailing the High Court order, the Suneetha Narredyy in her petition has said that the High Court after holding a “mini trial and giving findings/making comments on the merits of the prosecution case” virtually accepted the entire case of Avinash Reddy, while disregarding the evidence collected by the CBI which is investigating the case.

Alleging non-cooperation by Avinash Reddy in the investigation of the case, the petition says that he did not appear before the investigating agency on the last three occasions despite notices by the CBI asking him to appear before it.

The petitioner Suneetha Narreddy has alleged that Avinash Reddy along with other accused has “successfully” tampered with evidence by “destroying the scene of offence in the presence of the state police and had propagated the story that the deceased had died due to a heart attack.”

The petition says that Avinash Reddy had in fact “pressurised the police not to register an FIR as a result of which only an inquest under S. 174 Cr.PC was started, in a case of cold blooded murder as is evidenced from photographs of the deceased …”

The CBI took over the investigation in July 2020 on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court. The case was earlier registered at police station Pulivendula in Kadapa district (Andhra Pradesh). Late Vivekanand Reddy had represented Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency.

A month before the general elections in 2019, Vivekananda Reddy, a former MP, was found murdered at his residence at Pulivendula on March 15, 2019.