Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the Telangana high court’s decision to quash a 2016 criminal case against chief minister A Revanth Reddy.
The bench remarked that the litigation appeared to be an attempt to use the judiciary for a “political battle” and to gain “political mileage. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Revanth, described the petitioner as an “adventurous litigant” with a track record of filing vexatious cases. Taking this submission on record, the Supreme Court said they could “read between the lines” of such political disputes. In its final order, the bench concluded that the HC’s view was plausible under the circumstances and said no interference was warranted as the evidence collected during the investigation failed to support the allegations.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi observed that the HC correctly determined that no prima facie case existed to proceed against the former parliamentarian. During the hearing, the Supreme Court scrutinised the evidence, with Justice Bagchi pointing out that the links between Reanth and the alleged crime were based on hearsay and inferential logic rather than direct proof. The court also noted the petitioner’s history of prior enmity with the CM. the bench maintained that theHC already conducted a thorough review of the investigative materials While the petitioner’s counsel argued that actual physical presence at the scene was unnecessary for a charge of abetment.