The court ordered the ACB to make arrangements for KTR's advocate to watch the interrogation from a separate room.
Published Jan 08, 2025 | 8:02 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 08, 2025 | 8:02 PM
KTR flagging off the Formula E race in November 2022.
The Telangana High Court has allowed former minister KT Rama Rao to have an advocate at a “visible distance” when the Anti-Corruption Bureau questions him in the Formula E case on Thursday, 9 January.
However, the advocate cannot be in the investigation room, where KTR — as the minister is known — would be interrogated, the court ruled on Wednesday, 8 January.
While allowing Advocate Ramachandra Rao to be present at a “visible distance”, the court turned down a request of KTR’s counsel to audio-visually record the interrogation.
Justice K Lakshman issued the order based on a lunch motion petition KTR had moved on Wednesday. KTR’s lawyer was allowed to be at a visible distance after the ACB submitted that the lawyer could be allowed in the library, and watch the proceedings from a distance.
The court advised KTR to approach the court once again if he faces any issues with the arrangements made at the ACB office.
Referring to a few Supreme Court judgements, KTR’s advocate argued that a lawyer could be allowed in the room during interrogation. Additional advocate general, who appeared for ACB, too, drew attention to a few apex court judgements rejecting such pleas earlier.
The court asked the ACB’s advocate to explain its objection. It pointed out that the advocate and the petitioner would be in two different rooms where they could see each other. The court wanted the ACB to make the arrangements accordingly.
In a related development, the ACB grilled senior IAS officer and former principal secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department Arvind Kumar for over three hours on the transfer of ₹46 crore (excluding taxes) in foreign exchange from the HMDA account in Hyderabad to London-based Formula E Operations (FE), without following the due procedures in October 2023.
A team of three ACB officers asked several questions on various aspects of the funds transfer.
According to sources, the ACB obtained information on the person who authorised the fund transfer, and why it was done in a hurry without the consent of the Finance department or the approval of either the Cabinet or the HMDA chairman. The chairman was the then chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
Kumar was also asked to explain why the RBI’s nod was not taken before making the payment. Questions on why AceNextGen, promoted by Greenko, had opted out of organising the Formula E Race after sponsoring the first event in February 2023.
The questioning of Kumar assumes significance in the wake of speculation that he might turn approver in the case.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate questioned BLN Reddy, who was the chief engineer of the HMDA when the money transfer took place. The sleuths reportedly asked him about his role in the sequence of events that preceded the fund transfer.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
