NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for his comments over the granting of bail to BRS leader K Kavitha in the cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
Revanth Reddy had reportedly questioned how Kavitha got bail in five months when Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia got it only after 15 months and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is yet to get it. He also hinted at an alleged deal between the BJP and BRS for securing bail for Kavitha.
“Is this a kind of statement which should be made by a Chief Minister? A constitutional functionary is speaking in this manner? Why should they drag the court in political rivalry? Do we pass orders consulting political parties? We are not bothered by politicians or if anybody criticises our orders,” a three-judge bench headed by Justice B R Gavai told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Reddy.
"We always say we will not interfere in the legislature. That is expected from them also,” the bench noted.
The top court was hearing a petition seeking a transfer of the trial in in the 2015 cash-for-vote scam case, in which Reddy is an accused, from the state to Bhopal.
The petition was filed by BRS MLA Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy and others. They said that a fair trial could not take place in the state as Revanth Reddy is currently the CM as well as the Home Minister.
The court said it would appoint a special prosecutor to conduct the trial in the case.
Reddy had been arrested after being caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Telangana on May 31, 2015, for allegedly offering Rs 50 lakh to a nominated MLC, Elvis Stephenson, to vote in favour of the TDP candidate. Reddy was a TDP MLA at the time.