On 13 May, Ramakrishna Reddy — also the Macherla Assembly constituency candidate — allegedly barged into a polling station and smashed an EVM.
File photo of Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy. (PRK4959offical/Facebook)
The Supreme Court on Monday, 3 June, barred YSRCP MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, who allegedly smashed an EVM at a polling station, from entering the vote counting station of the Macherla Assembly constituency on 4 June.
A vacation bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta saw the video of the 13 May incident and termed the anticipatory bail granted to Reddy a “sheer mockery of the justice system”.
The bench directed Reddy not to enter the counting station of the Macherla assembly constituency on 4 June or be in its vicinity.
It asked the Andhra Pradesh High Court to decide the petition related to the cases against Reddy listed for hearing on 6 June without being influenced by the interim protection granted to him on 28 May.
On 13 May, Ramakrishna Reddy — also the Macherla Assembly constituency candidate from YSRCP — allegedly barged into a polling station and smashed an EVM.
The entire act was caught on a web camera installed by the Election Commission (EC), leading to his identification with footage and documentary evidence.
Following that, the EC directed Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta to take stringent criminal against the MLA.
According to the EC, EVMs were damaged at seven polling stations in Macherla constituency alone on the polling day.
On 23 May, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered police not to take any action against Pinnelli until 5 June. The high court, meanwhile, directed Pinnelli not to influence the investigation or the witnesses, scheduling the next hearing for 6 June.
The court also extended the same relief to other candidates who have filed similar anticipatory bail petitions related to the elections.
(With PTI inputs)
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