Telangana High Court concludes hearing on MLA poaching case

After hearing arguments at length, the Telangana High Court directed the State government to submit its written arguments by January 30

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday concluded the hearing in the MLA poaching case.

Resuming the hearing immediately after the Sankranti vacation, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N Tukaramji heard arguments of Supreme Court advocate and senior counsel Dushyant Dave representing the State government on its appeal challenging transfer of the poaching case investigation to the CBI.

Dave reiterated his arguments on how the single judge came to the conclusion that the investigation was suspicious without there being any substantial evidence and on how the investigation cannot be transferred to CBI cases except in the rarest of rare cases. He argued that the single judge cannot consider the revealing of a public document by the Chief Minister as leakage by the investigating agency. There is no error on part of the investigating agency and none of the actions of the SIT were suspicious, the State submitted.

Without there being any challenge against the FIR filed by the Moinabad police either by the 3 accused or by the BJP, how could the single judge quash the investigation by the SIT, Dave asked, terming the single judge order a bundle of contradictions and sought to set aside it.

Dave also said BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh had threatened the SIT and officers, who were a part of the probe team after the single judge ordered transfer of the probe to the CBI. Santosh, who sought immunity from arrest before the court, was now degrading the very authority of the court, Dave said.

After hearing arguments at length, the court directed the State government to submit its written arguments by January 30. Dave requested the court to kept its final order in abeyance for 15 days irrespective of the verdict in favour or against the government.