HC dismisses plea to quash CBI cases against Vanpic accused

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court dismissed the plea of K.V. Brahmananda Reddy, a former officer retired from the Indian Railways Accounts Service (IRAS), who requested the court to quash the case registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the Vadarevu and Nizampatnam Industrial Corridor (Vanpic) project.

Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the plea of Brahamananda Reddy and observed that the trial could not be aborted and the petitioner could not be discharged at the threshold.

“There are materials on record which may or may not lead to conviction of the petitioner at the end of the trial but in the opinion of the court is those are adequate to sustain a criminal trial,” Justice Bhuyan said.

While working with Eastern Railways, Kolkata, Brahmananda Reddy was brought on deputation by the government of Andhra Pradesh, when Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was the Chief Minister and was posted as the officer on special duty in the transport, roads and buildings department. Subsequently, he was transferred to the infrastructure and investment department in which capacity he played a key role in allotting thousands of acres of land in Prakasam district to Vanpic projects.

Later, a CBI probe was ordered into Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s disproportionate assets cases in which the CBI made Brahmananda Reddy an accused in the charge-sheet filed in relation to Vanpic projects and was arrested on May 15, 2012 and remained in custody till he was released on bail on October 10, 2013.

Brahmananda Reddy filed a discharge petition before the CBI court requesting the court to discharge him from the cases. However, the CBI court on August 5, 2016, held that there was prima facie case against the petitioner with reference to the allegations made against him in the charge sheet and that the case could not to be quashed. Therefore, the discharge petition was dismissed.

Challenging it, Brahmananda Reddy filed a criminal revision petition before the High Court to set aside the orders of CBI court and requested to quash the case against him. However, the High Court rejected his plea.