The Supreme Court of India granted temporary relief to three accused in the Andhra Pradesh liquor scam by extending interim protection from surrender. However, the Court refused to interfere with the High Court’s order cancelling default bail and asked the accused to seek regular bail from the trial court.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday gave temporary relief to three accused persons in the alleged ₹3,500 crore Andhra Pradesh liquor scam by extending the interim protection granted to them. However, the top court clearly said that it will not interfere with the decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which had cancelled the default bail earlier given to them.
A bench consisting of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi heard the matter. While continuing protection from immediate surrender, the Supreme Court directed the accused to approach the trial court and apply for regular bail in accordance with law.
The case relates to an order passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 19, by which the default bail granted to the accused was cancelled.
The High Court had also directed them to surrender before the trial court on November 26 and seek regular bail. Challenging this order, the accused moved the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued notices to the State of Andhra Pradesh and other respondents on the petitions filed by Balaji Govindappa, Pellakuru Krishna Mohan Reddy and K Dhanunjaya Reddy. At that stage, the top court had protected them from surrendering until further orders were passed.
Among the three accused, Dhanunjaya Reddy is a retired IAS officer who earlier served as a Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office. Krishna Mohan Reddy had worked as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the then Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, while Balaji Govindappa was a Director in Bharati Cements.
During the hearing before the Supreme Court, senior advocates CA Sundaram, Siddharth Dave and Mukul Rohatgi appeared on behalf of the petitioners. The Andhra Pradesh government was represented by senior advocate Siddharth Luthra.
As per the prosecution, the case involves a serious political and business nexus in the liquor policy and procurement process in Andhra Pradesh.
It has been alleged that between 2019 and 2024, during the previous YSRCP government, there was manipulation in liquor procurement, deliberate suppression of well-known brands, and preferential treatment given to newly introduced labels.
The prosecution further alleged that this system was used for the systematic collection of kickbacks, resulting in a scam worth thousands of crores.
With the Supreme Court refusing to interfere with the High Court’s decision on cancellation of default bail, the matter will now proceed before the trial court, where the accused have been asked to seek regular bail as per law.
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