Telangana High Court Grants Continued Protection to KTR in Formula E-Race Investigation
Click to start listening
Hyderabad, Dec 27 (NationPress) The Telangana High Court on Friday prolonged its orders until December 31, which prohibit the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from detaining Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former minister K.T. Rama Rao in the Formula-E race inquiry.
The court addressed a hearing concerning the quash petition submitted by Rama Rao, commonly known as KTR. The ACB submitted a counter to the petition, urging the court to revoke the interim orders preventing the arrest of KTR.
The High Court postponed the hearing to December 31 and continued the enforcement of its interim order until the next session.
Previously, on December 20, the High Court instructed the ACB not to apprehend KTR until December 30.
In granting relief to KTR, the court permitted the investigation to proceed and mandated the state government to submit its counter by December 23. The hearing was subsequently postponed to December 27.
On December 29, the ACB filed a case against KTR, senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, and former chief engineer of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) B.L.N. Reddy for alleged misconduct in organizing the Formula E-car race last year.
The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act based on accusations of financial misconduct related to the Formula-E race when the BRS party was in power.
The FIR was filed following a complaint by M. Dana Kishore, Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, and came after permission was granted by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at the request of the state government.
The ACB registered the FIR under Sections 13(1)(A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, as well as Sections 409 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code.
The complainant alleged that over Rs.54.88 crore was disbursed to UK-based Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and others in a “gross violation of established procedures”.
It is claimed that under the direction of then-industry minister KTR, the HMDA transferred funds to FEO against RBI guidelines, allegedly without securing necessary approvals.
On December 25, the ACB documented the statement of Dana Kishore. The anti-graft agency is reportedly setting the groundwork to issue notices to KTR and others.
KTR has refuted the corruption allegations, asserting that the Congress government is engaging in political vendetta. He contended that the Formula-E race was arranged to position Telangana as a hub for electric vehicles.
Following the FIR by the ACB, the Enforcement Directorate also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against KTR, Arvind Kumar, and B.L.N. Reddy.
The ED is currently investigating the alleged violations of the PMLA and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) associated with the transfer of funds to a foreign entity.
