Telangana high court grants bail to former MLA, 8 others in code violation case

Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to BRS leader and former Tandur MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy and eight others in a case registered at Tandur in Vikarabad district for allegedly violating the model code of conduct during the recent municipal election counting.The case was registered after Rohith Reddy and the others allegedly forced their way into the counting centre on Feb 13, where counting of votes was in progress, in violation of instructions issued by police personnel deployed at the venue. Justice K Sujana, while allowing the criminal petition, observed that the witnesses cited in the case are public servants and that custodial interrogation of the petitioners was not shown to be absolutely necessary at this stage. The court directed the petitioners to surrender before the station house officer of Tandur town police station within two weeks. It further ordered that they be released on bail upon executing a personal bond of ₹25,000 each with two sureties for a like sum. The petitioners were also directed to comply with other conditions stipulated under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and to cooperate with the investigating officer. In addition, they must appear before the investigating officer concerned every Monday between 9 am and 5 pm for eight weeks or until the filing of the chargesheet, whichever is earlier, and thereafter as required.