Telangana High Court Extends Interim Relief to KT Rama Rao
The Telangana High Court has extended the interim relief granted to BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao (KTR), ensuring he will not be arrested until a final verdict is reached. The single bench of Justice Kunuru Lakshman announced the decision on Tuesday after hearing arguments from both the government and KTR’s counsel. Earlier, the relief was set to expire on December 31. The judge has now reserved orders for the final judgment.
Advocate-General (A-G) A Sudarshan Reddy argued that payments to the Formula E organisation were made without adhering to business rules or obtaining necessary approvals. On the other hand, KTR’s counsel maintained that there was no criminality in the case, asserting that the allegations were baseless.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had registered a case against KTR on December 19. The allegations involved payments, some in foreign currency, made without proper approvals to conduct the Formula E race in Hyderabad during the previous administration. The case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), includes charges of criminal misappropriation, misconduct, breach of trust, and conspiracy. The alleged actions reportedly caused a loss of around ₹55 crore to the government. The ACB’s FIR named KTR as the prime accused, alongside senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and retired bureaucrat BLN Reddy.
Senior advocate CP Mohan Reddy, representing Dana Kishore, the then-principal secretary of Municipal Administration, stated that KTR had approved the transfer of funds from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to the Formula E Organisation (FEO). He added that officials followed KTR’s orders, as they worked directly under his supervision during his tenure as a minister.
The Advocate-General further claimed that KTR ordered the payment to the FEO even before signing a formal agreement last year for the event’s 10th edition, scheduled for February 2024. He highlighted that all rules were violated during the fund transfer process. Reddy also emphasized that the investigation was still in its early stages, and additional evidence could lead to more individuals being named as accused or the removal of existing names if evidence against them was insufficient.
The court was informed that Dana Kishore’s statement had already been recorded. A-G Reddy noted that none of the individuals listed as accused, including KTR, had been arrested so far. Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a notice to KTR, directing him to appear before it on January 7. Reddy pointed out that the agreement lacked clarity on how the state would benefit from organizing the race.
The case continues to unfold as the court awaits further developments and evidence in the matter.
