HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad High Court on Monday was not inclined to grant an order restraining the CBI from resorting to custodial interrogation of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited chairman T Venkattram Reddy and his brother T Vinayak Ravi Reddy who were arrested on Saturday. The court directed the CBI to file a counter affidavit in the case.
On Saturday evening, CBI officials from Bengaluru arrested the brothers for allegedly defrauding Canara Bank to the tune of Rs 357 crore.
Justice Vilas V Afzulpurkar was dealing with a lunch motion petition moved by members of the family of the accused challenging the legality of the arrests and the CBI’s custodial petition.
The petitioners’ counsel submitted that the CBI had made arrests despite cooperation from the petitioners with the investigating agency. The CBI violated its own manual and CrPC in arresting the said persons, he said and urged the court to grant status quo with regard to the plea seeking custody for interrogation.
On the other hand, the CBI counsel said that the investigating agency had served notices to the accused persons and there was no response to it. The CBI had made arrests in accordance with law, he maintained.
While refusing to pass any order, the judge directed the CBI to file a counter in the case and adjourned hearing by two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Bank Security and Fraud Cell (BSFC) of CBI sought 14 days’ custody of the two promoters of DCHL.
When the matter came up for hearing, the 14th additional chief metropolitan magistrate of Hyderabad posted the hearing to February 19 and directed the CBI counsel to file counter to the plea. As for the other petition of the two accused seeking the status of special-class prisoners, the magistrate posted the case to February 18. At present, the two accused are lodged in the Chanchalguda central prison here as undertrials.