The case stems from the high-stakes Huzurabad bye-election held in 2021, which saw BJP leader Eatala Rajender clinch a closely watched victory.
Published Jul 25, 2025 | 9:38 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 25, 2025 | 9:38 AM
BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar after winning the Lok Sabha elections on 4 June, 2024. (Supplied)
Synopsis: A special court in Hyderabad issued a non-bailable warrant against Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar. The warrant was issued after he failed to comply with repeated court summons in connection with a 2021 election code violation case.
The Special Court for MPs and MLAs at Nampally, Hyderabad, in Telangana, on Thursday, 24 July, issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar. The warrant was issued after he failed to comply with repeated court summons in connection with a 2021 election code violation case.
The case stems from the high-stakes Huzurabad bye-election held in 2021, which saw BJP leader Eatala Rajender clinch a closely watched victory.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the Huzurabad police against Sanjay and several others in 2021 for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The charge sheet in the case was filed in 2023.
The matter is currently at the examination stage, during which the presence of the accused is mandatory for questioning. Despite multiple opportunities and prior warnings from the court regarding compulsory appearance, Bandi Sanjay failed to attend the last two scheduled hearings.
Sanjay’s legal counsel, Karuna Sagar, told the court that the Karimnagar MP was unable to appear due to his participation in the ongoing Parliamentary session. However, the court took a serious view of the repeated absence and issued the NBW.
The court has adjourned the matter to 30 July for further proceedings.
The case was registered in October 2021 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Representation of Peoples Act, after he allegedly made remarks against the opponent, alleging that they gave ₹20,000 each for each vote to their leaders to be distributed to the voters, but the party leaders distributed only ₹5000 to the voters and pocketed the balance amount.
After the police filed a chargesheet in the case in 2023, the case was transferred to the special court.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Sumit Jha.)
