The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file reply to Dr. Suneetha Narreddy’s plea challenging the Telangana High Court order granting  anticipatory bail to YSR Congress Party’s Lok Sabha member from Kadapa YS Avinash Reddy and one of the accused 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.

Dr Suneetha Narreddy daughter of the deceased Vivekananda Reddy has challenged the May 31, Telangana High Court order granting pre-arrest bail to Avinash Reddy.

Posting the matter in the week commencing September 11, a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Bela M. Trivedi asked the investigating agency to place before it the copy of the chargesheet filed before the Special CBI court in Hyderabad in the case and the case diary.

In response to a poser from the bench, a lawyer appearing for the CBI informed the court that chargesheet in Vivekananda Reddy murder case has been filed in June. The bench then asked the lawyer to place on record the chargesheet filed in the case.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for the petitioner Dr Suneetha Narreddy.

The investigation in the case was handed over to the CBI on the direction of the High Court and the Supreme Court had shifted the trial in the case from Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad – Telangana.  Before the case was entrusted to CBI for investigation, it was being probed by the State police.

In one of the earlier hearings of the matter by the top court, Dr. Suneetha Narreddy  had told the court that Avinash Reddy was the main conspirator in her father’s murder. Avinash Reddy is accused number 8 in the case of Vivekanand Reddy’s murder case.

Challenging the May 31, 2023, 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.

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.

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 …”

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.