HYDERABAD: Telangana TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy, Bishop Harry Sebastian and Rudra Uday Simha, accused in the cash-for-vote scam, on Monday approached the Hyderabad High Court seeking grant of bail in the case. Presently, the accused are in judicial custody and are lodged in Cherlapally jail.
On May 31, Revanth Reddy was caught by the ACB along with Sebastian and Uday Simha while paying an alleged bribe of `50 lakh to TRS nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson for supporting the TDP nominee in the recently concluded MLC elections.
On June 10, the Special ACB Court rejected the bail application of Revanth Reddy while granting 12-hour interim bail to him to attend his daughter’s engagement ceremony. The trial court also refused the bail applications of the other two accused. Aggrieved with the trial court order the three accused approached the High Court for relief.
Revanth, in his bail petition, termed the case against him as fabricated and that it was created based on false and concocted story and he was falsely implicated in the case by his political rivals. There was no truth in the allegations levelled against him by the defacto complainant (nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson).
The TDP legislator contended that he is a law-abiding citizen and is hailing from respectable family and highly educated and is a reputed public figure involved in various social services and political agitations and he has been elected as MLA. He further said that he has never been involved in any such case and his arrest has shattered his family and damaged his reputation.
Earlier in the day, the Special ACB Court extended the judicial remand of the three accused till June 29. They were produced before the Court on Monday.
The ACB filed a memo before the court saying that the investigation is still continuing in the case and requested for extension of the remand of the accused.
According to ACB officials, the probe agency was still awaiting the reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) on electronic devices, including some phones containing audio clips and video footage relating to the case, that were sent to ascertain their authenticity. The FSL reports are expected in another three to four days.