The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant anticipatory bail to retired IAS officer K Dhanunjaya Reddy and former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Krishna Mohan Reddy.
Both served under former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and now face serious allegations in connection with the multi-crore Andhra Pradesh liquor scam.
A Bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan declined to intervene in the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s earlier order rejecting the duo’s anticipatory bail applications.
The court, however, assured that if the accused are arrested, their regular bail pleas will be considered on merit.
“The principles governing anticipatory and regular bail differ. The concerned court must apply the correct legal standards for considering regular bail,” the Bench clarified.
In an earlier interim order, the apex court had directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) not to arrest the two officials until Friday, 17 May, provided they cooperated fully with the investigation.
With the dismissal of their special leave petitions (SLPs), both men are now vulnerable to arrest and custodial interrogation.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had previously denied bail to the former bureaucrats, citing the early stage of the investigation into the alleged ₹3,200-crore scam.
The SIT questioned Dhanunjaya Reddy and Krishna Mohan Reddy, listed as accused numbers 31 and 32, about the alleged recipients of kickbacks from distillery companies.
On Tuesday, SIT officials arrested Govindappa Balaji, Director of Bharathi Cements Corporation, from Karnataka.
He was presented before the ACB Court in Vijayawada and remanded in judicial custody until 20 May.
The SIT investigation stems from accusations that YSR Congress Party leaders facilitated a new liquor policy during their tenure, floated new brands, and received substantial kickbacks from liquor manufacturers, thereby causing significant financial losses to the state.
The TDP-led NDA government had constituted the SIT in November last year to probe corruption within the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) during the YSRCP administration.
Among those already arrested is Raj Kasireddy, a former IT advisor to Jagan Mohan Reddy.
He allegedly played a central role in the illegal collection of nearly ₹3,000 crore over five years, further deepening the political and financial scandal surrounding the former regime.
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