HC Extends stay orders on 41-A Notices issued on BL Santosh and others
HYDERABAD: Justice K. Surender of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday extended till December 22, the interim stay on the poachgate SIT to issue Section 41A CrPC notices to BJP general secretary B.L. Santosh, Tushar Vellapally, Jaggu Swamy alias Kotillil and Karimnagar-based advocate Bhusarapu Srinivas.
Justice Surender extended the interim orders while taking into account the ACB court’s order rejecting the STI memo to array the four as accused in the poachgate case, the observations of the 1st Additional Special Judge for trial of SPE & ACB cases, Hyderabad, and the revision petition filed before the High Court on its orders.
The High Court recorded the observations of the ACB court which had, in orders dated December 6, said no prima facie case had been made out against the four persons. The ACB court made it clear that the SIT had no power to investigate the poachgate as the cases were registered under the PC Act and election-related laws.
Justice Surender also recorded that another bench of the High Court had adjudicated the SIT criminal revision petition which challenged the order the 1st Additional Special Judge for Trial of SPE & ACB Cases. The orders in the revision petition have been reserved, and are expected to be pronounced on December 21.
D. Prakash Reddy, senior counsel, representing Santosh, asked the court to quash the 41A notice because the ACB court had rejected the SIT’s proposal to array the BJP leader as accused. He pointed out that the High Court in the revision petition had neither suspended nor stayed the ACB court orders.
Prakash Reddy said that the SIT could not deny that the order of the 1st Additional Special Judge for Trial of SPE & ACB Cases, Hyderabad, was in vogue as the High Court order had not been pronounced on the SIT criminal revision petition.
Pattabhi Vemulapati, senior counsel arguing for Jaggu Swamy, opposed the issue of the Section 41A notice stating that it was in violation of Article 21. He said SIT officials were terrorising Jaggu Swamy to appear before it when he replied to notice.
