VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the registry that the appeal filed by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Mutt clerk Ch Ravikumar be clubbed with an ongoing suo motu case related to the Tirumala Parakamani theft incident on Thursday.
Following an appeal filed by Ravikumar challenging a single-judge order directing the APCID to investigate the theft of US$900 worth Rs 72,000 from the Tirumala Srivari Parakamani and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe his assets, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Rao Raghunandan Rao questioned that how can a private employee be treated as a public servant.
The court also noted that another division bench of the High Court is already hearing a suo motu case concerning the Lok Adalat’s orders in the same matter.
Observing that “two benches need not deal with the same issue,” the Chief Justice directed the registry to tag Ravikumar’s appeal with the suo motu case so that both matters could be heard together.
In his petition, Ravikumar contended that he is not an employee of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) but works as a clerk in the private Chinna Jeeyar Mutt.
He argued that he does not fall under the definition of a public servant.