HC suspends another AP judge in ‘cash-for bail’ case

HYDERABAD: The cash-for-bail scam involving jailed mining baron and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy is taking its toll on the state judiciary after the AP high court on Friday placed another judge D Prabhakar Rao, who was posted as a judge of the family court at Srikakulam 24 hours ago, under suspension.
This, according to sources, was a direct offshoot of the letter sent by ACB officials to the HC, seeking the court’s permission to probe his role in the cash-for-bail scam that has already sent two district judges -- one serving and the other retired – to jail.As per the confessions made by the accused in the case, it was Prabhakar Rao who first tried to influence CBI court judge T Pattabhirama Rao for granting bail to Gali for a Rs 10-crore deal, which did not materialize. Pattabhi chose a trusted route through his friend and retired district judge T V Chalapati Rao although the latter brought in the same deal for a lesser price -- that is Rs 5 crore.
The ACB officials are likely to add Prabhakar as an accused in the case in the coming days which may result in his arrest as well. Till Thursday, he was working with the state election commission as its secretary (legal) on deputation. As Prabhakar was on deputation with an outside agency, the HC first recalled him from his deputation and posted him as a judge in a Srikakulam family court.
Since this was only to gain jurisdiction, the HC immediately suspended after recalling him from deputation.
The CBI exposed the cash-for-bail scam immediately after Pattabhirama Rao granted bail to Gali on May 11. Following a complaint from the CBI, the high court had earlier suspended Pattabhi and, later, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths had arrested him. The role of Chalapati Rao, Pattabhi’s son Ravichandra, Gali’s brother Somasekhar Reddy and others was revealed subsequently. While Chalapati was offered Rs 5 crore for granting bail to Gali, Prabhakar was allegedly offered Rs 10 crore.
But Pattabhi struck the deal along with retired judge Chalapati. In the confession statement before the ACB, Chalapati Rao said, “Pattabhi told me that one Prabhakar Rao is offering Rs 10 crore for the bail and he would be able to say anything only after having a look at the files.”
In his statement, Ravichandra said his father settled for the less complicated Chalapati to seal the deal after Prabhakar Rao started pestering Pattabhi to grant bail to Gali. Chalapati said in his confession that Pattabhi finally agreed for Rs 5 crore deal and had even told him on May 11 morning that he was granting bail to Gali only in anticipation of the cash.
Chalapati Rao had also met Pattabhi in his court chambers on May 8 to strike the deal.