[MLA poaching case] Telangana High Court insulates SIT from executive; directs probe to be monitored by High Court

The Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed that the seven-member special investigation team (SIT) which is probing the allegations related to poaching of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLAs by BJP, should not report to any political or executive authority..Instead, the SIT probe should be monitored by a single-judge of the High Court to whom the probe agency should report, a bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy ordered. Towards this end, the bench passed a slew of directions for an independent SIT probe along with liberty to approach single-judge for further permissions required if any, for investigation."There shall not be any interference by any authority in the investigation by the SIT in Crime No.455 of 2022 and if any permissions are required to proceed further with the investigation, SIT would be at liberty to make suitable application before the learned Single Judge," the Court ordered. .Considering the fact that the case has serious political ramifications, the Court was of the view that it would be in the interest of all concerned if the investigation is done in a fair and professional manner, insulated from political allegations.Therefore, the Court directed there shall be no selective leakage of investigation or materials gathered during investigation.The chairman of the SIT CV Anand (IPS) has to ensure that the same is scrupulously followed, Court added..The Court further said that single-judge B Vijaysen Reddy, who had been hearing petitions related to the case, shall monitor the investigation and pass orders on the basis of materials including progress of investigation to be submitted before him in sealed cover by the SIT from time to time.The Court further ordered that SIT shall submit its first report in sealed cover before the single-judge about the progress of investigation on November 29..The State had earlier constituted an SIT headed by Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand to probe the allegations.The SIT also comprises of the following members:i. Rama Rajeshwari, IPS, SP, Nalgonda;ii. Kalmeshwar Shingenavar, IPS, DCP, Crimes, Cyberabad;iii. Sri R.Jagadishwar Reddy, DCP, Shamshabad, Cyberabad;iv. Sri N.Venkateshwarlu, SP, Narayanpet;v. Sri B.Gangadhar, ACP, Rajendranagar Division, Cyberabad;vi. Sri Laxmi Reddy, SHO, Moinabad Police Station, Cyberabad..The Court was hearing an appeal filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telangana State Unit against an order date November 8 passed by single-judge B Vijaysen Reddy who had lifted the stay on the probe by the State Police into allegations by TRS about attempts at poaching its MLAs by the BJP. According to the facts, first information report (FIR) was lodged by respondent for criminal conspiracy and other sections under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as under section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.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..The BJP, however, contended that the entire episode was stage managed with the sole objective of defaming appellant political party.Against this backdrop, it moved the High Court contending that the case registered with the Moinabad Police Station should be entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a free and fair investigation..The order passed by the single-judge on November 8 observed that investigation in the present case could not be stalled for an indefinite period and that it was not inclined to continue further with the interim order dated October 29 by which the further investigation in the case had been deferred. Accordingly, the police were permitted to go ahead with the investigation and it was against the same that the present appeal was filed.The Court in its order after noting that an SIT has already been formed proceeded to pass directions to ensure that the probe is independent. .Senior Advocate V Chitambaresh appeared for appellant-BJP while Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave represented respondents..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.