VIJAYAWADA: The High Court has partly allowed a petition filed by the Crime Investigation Department seeking to set aside the order of the ACB Court Vijayawada granting bail to YSRCP leader and Rajampet MP PV Mithun Reddy in the alleged multi-crore liquor scam case.
Delivering the order on Friday, Justice Venkata Jyotirmayi Pratapa observed that the ACB Court had referred to several issues in its bail order that went beyond its scope of consideration. The court noted that some of the observations made in the bail order could potentially hinder the ongoing investigation into the case.
The court pointed out that the investigation against Mithun Reddy has not yet been completed and that the investigating agency has not filed a charge sheet so far. Despite this, the ACB Court had made observations in its order suggesting that the investigation had concluded.
In this context, the HC stayed the implementation of certain observations made by the ACB Court in the bail order but declined to cancel Mithun Reddy’s bail. The petition was accordingly disposed of.
It may be recalled that the CID had approached the HC challenging ACB Court’s September 29 order granting bail to Mithun Reddy, who is listed as fourth accused in the case.
During the hearing, senior advocates Siddharth Luthra and Siddharth Agarwal, appearing for the prosecution, argued that several remarks in the ACB Court’s order weakened the prosecution’s case and could influence the probe. They contended that the trial court had questioned the admissibility of evidence, including Google Takeout data and statements recorded under Sections 161 and 164 of the CrPC.