Andhra Pradesh HC orders CBI probe into theft in Nellore court

The District Principal Judge had also stated that facts would come out if an inquiry was conducted by an independent agency.

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into the theft of documents from the Nellore district court pertaining to a case involving a state minister.

Chief Justice P. K. Mishra pronounced the orders handing over the case to the central agency. The High Court had taken up suo motu hearing as Public Interest Litigation (PIL) following report of Nellore Principal District Judge that the police investigation into the theft case was not done properly.

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The District Principal Judge had also stated that facts would come out if an inquiry was conducted by an independent agency.

In July, the state government as well as agriculture minister Kakani Goverdhan Reddy had told the High Court that they have no objection for a CBI probe into the theft of documents pertaining to a case involving the minister from the Nellore district court.

The documents relating to the case of forgery and cheating involving minister Kakani were stolen from the Fourth Additional Judicial Magistrate Court in Nellore in April.

In December 2017, then MLA Kakani had accused Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy of amassing a huge wealth and released some documents as proof.

Somireddy had lodged a complaint with the police that the documents released by Kakani were forged. A charge sheet was also filed in the case.

The material presented before the court in the case was stolen from the court on April 14, a few days after Kakani became a minister.

The offenders took away a bag containing documents, a few stamps and a few electronic items.

Based on the complaint by court staff, police filed a case and took up the investigation.

Police later found the stolen bag in a culvert outside the court but several documents were missing. Police had also arrested two accused in the case.

Lawyers at Nellore court had staged a protest demanding CBI investigation. They termed the incident “unprecedented” in the history of the judiciary.