Supreme Court declines immediate relief to YSRCP leader Srihari

Vijayawada: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in the high court order suspending the remand rejection order of the trial court in the abusive social media posts case registered against Pudi Srihari, YSRCP general secretary and former chief public relations officer (CPRO) to the chief minister.Srihari moved the Supreme Court, apprehending arrest after the high court suspended the remand rejection order given by the trial court. He was arrested in the case registered over making objectionable social media posts with morphed images of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. He was released after the trial court rejected sending him to judicial remand. Arguing on his behalf, senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy said that the high court did not consider the discrepancies pointed out by them.He said that the police did not follow proper procedures and created a story claiming that Srihari refused to accept the notice under 35(3) of BNSS. He said that the police created false evidence against the petitioner, which is evident from the remand report they submitted. He argued that the time mentioned in the remand report about serving of notices and arresting Srihari did not match. He sought interim protection from arrest at least till the high court decides the case.Arguing on behalf of the state govt, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi said that the case is scheduled to be heard by the high court on Wednesday and there is no need for any interim order.Considering the arguments on both sides, justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and justice N V Anjaria said that they are not inclined to interfere with the high court order as the hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. However, the bench issued notices to the respondents and posted the matter for further hearing during the summer vacation.