HYDERABAD: Three accused in the TRS MLAs poaching case were given conditional bail by the High Court.
Kore Nandu Kumar, Ramachandra Bharati and Simhayaji, the three accused in the poaching case against TRS MLAs who are now being held in Cherlapalli prison, were granted conditional release by Justice Chillakur Sumalatha of the Telangana High Court on Thursday.
The accused were ordered to provide Rs. 3 lakh surety bond for each and handed over their passports to the SIT, among other requirements, by the court. The accused must appear before the SIT every Monday between 10.30 AM and 12 PM until the charge sheet is filed.
During the hearing, the judge questioned Ravichander, the senior attorney representing one of the accused, about the basis for his request for release.
Senior counsel L. Ravichander responded by saying that no notice under Section 41A Cr.P.C. has been given by the police.
The three accused were detained on October 26, 2022, but their remand was rejected by the Additional Special Court for ACB matters on October 27, 2022. Subsequently, on this court's orders, the three were detained again on October 29, 2022, and were remanded to judicial custody.
"From the contentions of the Additional Public Prosecutor, it is clear that the investigation began on 26-10-22 and that the entire material pertaining to this case has been seized by the police and is in the possession of the police. Admittedly, the state has every power to curtail those who hamper the investigation and it is more than one month that the accused are in prison and the material part of the investigation is complete. As a result, this court considers it acceptable to grant the criminal petitions of the accused in order to enhance their bail," ordered the judge.
The judge also noted in her ruling that the accused persons are residents of other states and that they possess several passports and different Aadhar cards using which they would try to leave the nation. The court also noted the argument made by the additional public prosecutor that the three accused do not need to receive notice under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code because the offence was committed in their presence.
After hearing three criminal petitions from Kore Nandu Kumar, Rama Chandra Bharati, and Simhyaji, all three were granted bail with restrictions.