Suneetha Reddy has approached the Supreme Court against the interim order of Telangana High Court staying Kadapa MP Avinash Reddy’s arrest by the CBI in the murder case of her father and former Andhra Pradesh Minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy.
Suneetha Reddy has filed the petition in the apex court challenging the Telangana High Court’s order to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to arrest Avinash Reddy till April 25.
The petition is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday.
Suneetha Reddy had impleaded herself in anticipatory bail petition filed by Avinash Reddy in the High Court. She had opposed anticipatory bail to Avinash, who was summoned by the CBI for further questioning in the case.
In its interim order on April 18, the High Court directed the CBI not to arrest Avinash Reddy till April 25. It asked the MP to appear before the CBI daily till April 25, when the court will deliver final orders on his petition.
Both Avinash Reddy and Suneetha Reddy are cousins of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Vivekananda Reddy, brother of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s father and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was murdered at his residence in Pulivendula on March 15, 2019, a few days before the elections.
The 68-year-old former state minister and former MP was alone at his house when unidentified persons barged in and killed him.
The CBI took over the investigation into the case in 2020 on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition of Suneetha Reddy, who raised suspicion about some relatives.
The Supreme Court transferred the case to Hyderabad in November last year after Suneetha Reddy raised doubts about getting a fair trial and investigation in Andhra Pradesh.
With the Supreme Court setting April 30 as the deadline for the CBI to complete its investigation, the agency expedited the probe with the recent arrest of Avinash Reddy’s father Bhaskar Reddy and their follower Uday Kumar Reddy.
Meanwhile, the Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the CBI to audio and video record the questioning of Bhaskar Reddy and Uday Kumar Reddy. The court asked the agency to follow the prescribed guidelines for questioning during the custody.
The CBI on Wednesday took the two accused into custody for six days.