Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Thursday said proceedings in the 2015 ‘cash-for-vote’ case involving Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, then a TDP MLA, would have to begin afresh as the judges who had earlier heard the matter have since retired.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made the observation while taking up petitions in the case, which had earlier been treated as part-heard. The CJI clarified that the matter could not continue from the stage at which it had been left and would instead require a fresh hearing before the present bench.
The petitions were filed by Revanth Reddy and Sandra Venkata Veeraiah challenging the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s investigation into the case. BRS leaders later became parties to the proceedings.
During the hearing, counsel for the BRS leaders pointed out that the matter had already been heard in part. The CJI, however, said a fresh date would be fixed for a re-hearing and adjourned the case.
The case relates to a 2015 ACB trap involving alleged bribery of MLA Elvis Stephenson.