YS Vivekananda Reddy, who was the uncle of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was found murdered at his home in Pulivendula, Kadapa district, in March 2019.
New Delhi, April 15: The Supreme Court of India has asked for a reply from one of the accused in the 2019 murder case of former Congress MP YS Vivekananda Reddy. The top court is considering two petitions seeking to cancel the bail granted to this accused.
A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar issued notice to Gajjala Uday Kumar Reddy, who is one of the accused, after hearing from lawyers representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and advocate Jesal Wahi, who appeared for Suneetha Narreddy, the daughter of the late Vivekananda Reddy.
The bench said, “Issue notice and tag these petitions with the pending ones.”
BRIEF FACTS:
Suneetha Narreddy has challenged the Telangana High Court’s order dated August 21, 2024, which granted regular bail to Gajjala Uday Kumar Reddy. He is said to be a close associate of Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy, who belongs to the YSR Congress Party. Gajjala was granted bail on the condition of furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 2 lakh and two sureties of the same amount.
In her petition, Suneetha said:
“There are grave and serious allegations made against the respondent number 1 as he is found to be one of the conspirators to the murder of the deceased as well as instrumental in destruction of vital evidence and registering false FIR against the CBI officer.”
She argued that the High Court granted him bail at a very sensitive time:
“The relief was granted to him at a ‘crucial juncture’ when the trial was about to commence.”
A similar petition was also filed by the CBI, showing that multiple legal battles are being fought on both sides in this high-profile murder case.
Previously, on December 6, 2023, the Supreme Court had asked for responses from the CBI and YS Bhaskar Reddy, who is the father of Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy, in another plea challenging the bail granted to him by the Telangana High Court.
This plea too was filed by Suneetha Narreddy, who has consistently opposed bail being given to those accused in her father’s murder case.
YS Vivekananda Reddy, who was the uncle of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was found murdered at his home in Pulivendula, Kadapa district, in March 2019. His death happened just weeks before the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, raising suspicion about political motivations behind the killing.
Initially, the Andhra Pradesh police investigated the case. But in 2020, the investigation was handed over to the CBI, which later revealed a deep conspiracy involving multiple people.
On November 19, 2024, the Supreme Court also asked for responses from the Andhra Pradesh Police and others on two separate petitions filed by Suneetha Narreddy and CBI official Ram Singh.
These petitions aimed to quash criminal cases filed against them, which they claimed were meant to obstruct the CBI’s investigation.
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They alleged that a false FIR was lodged against them to disturb the ongoing probe and asked the top court to cancel these cases.
Suneetha and CBI officer Ram Singh were named as accused in a criminal complaint filed by M V Krishna Reddy, who was the former personal assistant of Vivekananda Reddy.
The Supreme Court also agreed to hear another petition that challenged the bail granted to YS Avinash Reddy, alleging he had tampered with evidence and even tried to influence a witness in the case.
So far, the Supreme Court has taken up multiple petitions connected to this murder investigation, including those questioning the validity of bail orders, and complaints about witness intimidation.
Another plea was filed opposing the bail given to D Siva Shankar Reddy, yet another accused in the case.
