Mathaiya claimed that he was kidnapped, tortured, and forced to sign false statements. He demanded a high-level inquiry to safeguard India’s electoral system.
Published Sep 24, 2025 | 3:09 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 24, 2025 | 3:26 PM
Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu & Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy.
Synopsis: The three-page petition revived memories of the 2015 scandal that shook the Telugu states after bifurcation. At the time, Revanth Reddy, then a TDP MLA, was caught in a sting operation, offering ₹50 lakh to Anglo-Indian MLA Elvis Stephenson to secure his vote for TDP candidate Vem Narender Reddy in the Telangana Legislative Council elections.
Jerusalem Mathaiya, one of the accused in the 2015 cash-for-vote scandal, has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking action against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy.
The petition, dated 23 September, addressed to the Chief Justice of India, alleged that both leaders orchestrated the bribery scheme and tried to derail ongoing investigations.
Mathaiya, listed as the fourth accused (A4) in the case, claimed that he was kidnapped, tortured, and forced to sign false statements. He demanded a high-level inquiry to safeguard India’s electoral system.
The three-page petition revived memories of the 2015 scandal that shook the Telugu states after bifurcation. At the time, Revanth Reddy, then a TDP MLA, was caught in a sting operation, offering ₹50 lakh to Anglo-Indian MLA Elvis Stephenson to secure his vote for TDP candidate Vem Narender Reddy in the Telangana Legislative Council elections.
Audio clips allegedly featuring conversations between Stephenson and then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu surfaced, raising questions of a larger conspiracy. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Revanth Reddy on 31 May 2015, under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code provisions for bribery.
Mathaiya, a pastor and Stephenson associate, was accused of facilitating the bribe. The Hyderabad High Court quashed all proceedings against him in June 2016, citing a lack of evidence. The Telangana government later challenged this in the Supreme Court, which admitted the appeal in January 2017.
Mathaiya later turned approver. In December 2020, he submitted an affidavit to the Enforcement Directorate detailing how Naidu and Revanth allegedly masterminded the operation. He claimed that he had arranged a ₹5 crore deal with Stephenson to influence the MLC vote.
In his new petition, Mathaiya alleged a fresh cover-up amid changing political equations. Revanth Reddy has headed the Telangana Congress government since December 2023. Naidu returned as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister in June 2024 under the TDP-BJP alliance. Mathaiya claimed that they are using their positions to weaken the case.
He accused them of pressuring ACB officers and police to tamper with evidence, including voice forensics and call records linking Naidu to the scandal.
“Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy summoned me to the TDP Mahanadu and explained the vote-for-note case,” Mathaiya wrote. He alleged they conspired to topple the then TRS government by buying MLA votes.
Kidnapped by police
Mathaiya detailed his ordeal. He claims Telangana police and ACB officials kidnapped him from Hyderabad, took him to Vijayawada, and held him incommunicado for seven months. “They forcibly kidnapped me and kept me in hiding for 6-7 months,” he stated.
He alleged that then AP Police Intelligence Officer AB Venkateswara Rao, the AP DGP, and others forced him to file a false 164 statement while shielding key ministers. Mathaiya also accused TDP lawyers and associates of manipulating his family, using his wife and children as leverage.
The petition sought multiple reliefs: quash ongoing petitions in lower courts, a Supreme Court-monitored inquiry, removal of Revanth Reddy and associates like Vem Narender Reddy and Uday Simha until investigations conclude, and re-examination of evidence, including Naidu’s phone records and the ₹50 lakh cash seized.
Mathaiya cautioned that inaction could weaken democracy. “This judgment will protect the voting system. Your verdict can be a weapon,” he stated. He criticised both TDP and Congress for using “undemocratic methods” to gain power, calling the scandal a “grave sin” against the Constitution.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
