MLA poaching case: Telangana High Court grants bail to three accused

The Telangana High Court Thursday granted bail to three accused in the ongoing Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLAs poaching case..Justice Chillakur Sumalatha granted conditional bail to three accused subject to furnishing bail bonds of ₹ 3 lakh each along with two sureties of the same amount.They also have to appear before Investigating Officer of Special Investigation Team (SIT), every Monday between 10:30 am and 12 noon..The single-judge took into account that the accused had been in judicial custody for more than a month and the material part of investigation was complete. "This Court is of the view that the request of the petitioners-accused Nos.1 to 3 for grant of bail can be honoured, however conditionally," the order said..During the hearing, Senior Advocate L Ravi Chander, on behalf of one of the accused MLA, submitted that the police illegally arrested the accused without following the mandate prescribed under Section 41A of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).He further said, Moinabad police had no authority under the Prevention of Corruption Act to arrest the accused.They have been behind bars since past 30 days, he added..The State counsel refuted the arguments made by applicant's counsel and submitted that since the incident took place in front of police, they were not required to follow the mandate under Section 41A..It was alleged that on September 6 two out of the three accused persons (Ramachandra Bharati @ Satish Sharma and Nanda Kumar) had met the informant and negotiated with him not to contest as a candidate from the TRS party. Instead, he was asked to resign from TRS and join BJP.The informant further stated that in connection with the same he was offered an amount of ₹100 crores besides certain contract works of the Central government and was even threatened with dire consequences if he refused.MLA Nanda Kumar, who was apprehended alongside two other suspected BJP agents operatives while allegedly attempting to lure TRS MLAs, was lodged in the Banjara Hills police from Central Prison Chanchalguda after the court granted two days custody on November 28..Senior Advocate L Ravi Chander and advocates Immaneni Rama Rao, G Naga Raju appeared for the petitioners. The respondents were represented by advocate K Vasu Deva Raju and Additional Public Prosecutor TV Ramana Rao..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.