One of the accused, Nanda Kumar, is likely to remain in prison as he is an accused in five other cases registered by the Banjara Hills police.
Screengrab of the video of the people allegedly involved in the "cash for MLAs" case in Telangana. (Supplied)
The High Court of Telangana on Thursday, 1 December, granted conditional bail to the three accused in the “Cash for MLAs” case.
The accused, Faridabad-based priest Ramachandra Bharathi, Tirupati pontiff Simhayajhi and Hyderabad hotelier Nanda Kumar, were lodged in the Chanchalguda prison for more than a month.
The men, allegedly BJP emissaries, were detained from a Moinabad farmhouse while trying to poach four TRS MLAs with cash and top positions.
The MLAs were Rega Kantha Rao (Pinapaka), Pilot Rohit Reddy (Tandur), Beeram Harshavardhan Reddy (Kollapur), and Guvvala Balaraju (Achampet).
While granting them bail, the high court asked the men to provide a personal surety of ₹3 lakh each and two guarantors. The court also directed them to surrender their passports to the investigation officer.
The three men should also appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case every Monday.
Counsel for the accused submitted that the Supreme Court had felt that the accused could apply for bail in the high court and it could consider the petition depending on the merits of the case.
Referring to the apex court again, the lawyer argued that arresting a person without giving notice violated Section 41 (A) of the CrPC.
SIT’s counsel argued that if granted bail, the accused might influence the investigation and threaten the witnesses. The SIT argued that they should not be granted bail at a time when the investigation has entered a crucial stage.
Nanda Kumar, however, would not be walking out of prison since he is an accused in five cases registered at the Banjara Hills Police Station.
The cases include sub-leasing a parcel of land to another party for setting up a restaurant, Deccan Kitchen.
Though he got bail in the “Cash for MLAs case,” he will remain a remand prisoner in the Deccan Kitchen case.
Ramachandra Bharati, too, has other cases pending against him at Banjara Hills. He has been accused of holding a fake passport, fake driving licence and fake Aadhaar card.
The police may arrest him in connection with the Banjara Hill cases and send him back to remand.
Apr 28, 2024
Apr 28, 2024
Apr 28, 2024
Apr 28, 2024
Apr 28, 2024
Apr 28, 2024
