SUNEETHA NARREDDY versus Y S AVINASH REDDY & ANR

Citation: [2023] 4 S.C.R. 568 · Decided: 24-04-2023 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: D.Y. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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568
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2023] 4 S.C.R.
SUNEETHA NARREDDY
v.
Y S AVINASH REDDY & ANR.
(Criminal Appeal No. 1251 of 2023)
APRIL 24, 2023
[DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD AND
PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA, JJ.]
Investigation – Victim-deceased was found murdered – CBI
submitted a chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet naming
five persons – CBI issued summons to the first respondent – First
respondent appeared before the CBI on several occasions – First
respondent filed writ petition – On 18.04.2023, the High Court (i)
granted an ad interim stay of arrest; and (ii) directed that the
examination before the CBI in the course of the investigation shall
be “in printed/written form” during the course of which a
questionnaire may also be handed over to the first respondent – On
appeal, held: The abovementioned order would stultify the
investigation – There is absolutely no warrant for the High Court
to direct that the investigation of a person who has been interrogated
as a suspect in the conspiracy should be in the printed or written
form – Similarly, it is wholly inappropriate for the High Court to
observe that the questionnaire may also be handed over to the
respondent – Such orders of the High Court are liable to gravely
prejudice the course of investigation – Impugned order of the High
Court set aside.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No.
1251 of 2023.
From the Judgment and Order dated 18.04.2023 of the High Court
for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad in CRLP No. 3798 of 2023.
Sidharth Luthra, Sr. Adv., Ms. Jesal Wahi, Anmol Kheta, Kumar
Kashyap, Advs. for the Appellant.
Tushar Mehta, SG, Mukul Rohatgi, Ranjit Kumar, Sr. Advs.,
Mukund P. Unny, Siddhartha Sarma, Advs. for the Respondents.
[2023] 4 S.C.R. 568
568
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569
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, CJI
1. Leave granted.
2. The appeal arises from an order dated 18 April 2023 of a single
Judge of the High Court for the State of Telangana in Criminal Petition
No 3798 of 2023. The High Court was moved with an application for the
grant of Anticipatory bail to the first respondent under Section 438 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure 19731 in connection with RC-04(S)/2020/
SC-III/ND.
3. The deceased, YS Vivekananda Reddy, was found to have
been murdered at his house at Pulivendula, Kadapa District of Andhra
Pradesh on the night intervening 14/15 March 2019. The deceased was
the brother of Shri YS Rajasekhara Reddy, former Chief Minister of the
undivided State of Andhra Pradesh.
4. A complaint was lodged by MV Krishna Reddy at 8.00 am on
15 March 2019 at Pulivendula Urban Police Station which resulted in
the registration of Crime No 84/2019.
5. A Special Investigating Team was constituted by the Director
General of Police headed by the Additional Director General of Police
(CID). The Special Investigating Team was reconstituted on 13 June
2019 and 10 October 2019.
6. The appellant is the daughter of the deceased. The appellant
instituted a petition before the High Court seeking a transfer of the
investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation2.
7. On 11 March 2020, the High Court directed that the CBI shall
conduct further investigation in CR No 84/2019 of the Pulivendula Urban
Police Station.
8. The CBI registered the crime as RC-04(S)/2020/SC-III/ND
on 9 July 2020.
9. On 21 October 2021, the CBI submitted a charge sheet before
the court of the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Pulivendula naming four
persons, namely, Yerra Gangi Reddy (Al), Yadati Sunil Yadav (A2), Gajjala
Uma Shankar Reddy (A3) and Shaik Dastagiri (A4) for commission of
1 “CrPC”
2 “CBI”
SUNEETHA NARREDDY v. Y S AVINASH REDDY & ANR.
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2023] 4 S.C.R.
offences punishable under Sections 302 and 120-B of the Indian Penal
Code 1860. The charge sheet submitted by the CBI named among others,
the first respondent, his father and two other persons as suspects in the
conspiracy to commit the murder of the deceased.
10. On 17 November 2021, the CBI arrested D. Siva Shankar
Reddy.
12. On 31 January 2022, the CBI filed a supplementary charge
sheet naming D. Siva Shankar Reddy as A5.
13. Apprehending that there was a serious danger to the life of
the witnesses and that false complaints were being filed against the
officers of the CBI, the appellant and her mother moved this Court seeking
directions for the transfer of the trial from the CBI Special Court Kadapa,
Andhra Pradesh to the CBI Speci
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