Elections 2014: Politicians get stay on probes

Hyderabad: MPs, ministers and MLAs involved in criminal cases are escaping the Supreme Court deadline, which required trials to be completed within one year, in cases they were allegedly involved in.

In the state, the High Court has granted stays on inquiries into several cases, including those against Union minister  K. Chiranjeevi, former ministers Ramireddy Venkat Reddy and K.E. Prabhakar, MP M. Rajmohan Reddy, MLA Kanna Babu, S.V. Satish Reddy and other politicians. They are involved in offences under several serious Sections.

Interestingly, the police has never made any attempt to get the stays vacated by filing petitions in the HC. Forums working towards cleaning up politics have written to the High Court pleading that the stay orders be vacated.

Secretary of the Forum for Good Governance, M. Padmanabha Reddy said, “In some instances, stays are granted on further enquiry. There are a number of cases where stay orders are coming in the way of investigations and filing of chargesheets. In light of SC orders to dispose the cases within a period of an year, the stay orders need to be vacated.”

MLC Swamy Goud has got a stay on a case of cheating against him. Former MLA of Pendurthy,  MP Ramesh Babu, Kakinada rural MLA  K. Kanna Babu, Kakinada Urban MLA  M. Gopala Krishna, Palakol MLA  Bangaru Usha Rani feature in the list.

Rajya Sabha MP  K. Chiranjeevi has also got a stay in a 2009 case. Pathikonda MLA K.E. Prabhakar, former minister  Venkat Reddy, MLC  S.V. Satish Reddy and MP  Rajmohan Reddy also got stays.

“The cases are between the years 2009 and 2013,” said Mr Padmanabha Reddy.