K. T. Rama Rao Seeks High Court Approval for Lawyer's Presence During ACB Interrogation

Hyderabad, Jan 8 (NationPress) K. T. Rama Rao, the working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), filed a petition with the Telangana High Court on Wednesday, requesting that his lawyer be allowed to be present during his interrogation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) concerning the Formula-E race case.

As he prepares to appear before the ACB, Rama Rao submitted the petition on the eve of his scheduled questioning, seeking the court's directive to ensure his lawyer's presence during the examination.

The ACB is investigating alleged financial misconduct related to the 2023 Formula-E race while the BRS was in power and had summoned Rama Rao on January 6. However, he left the ACB office after being denied the presence of his lawyer during the questioning.

KTR, as he is widely known, had previously written to the ACB, asking for a postponement of his questioning until the Telangana High Court made a ruling on his quash petition.

After the High Court dismissed KTR’s plea to quash the FIR on Tuesday, the ACB issued a new notice, instructing him to appear on January 9.

Furthermore, the court declined to issue orders preventing the ACB from arresting him.

The BRS working president has since filed an appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the matter.

In a media briefing on Tuesday night, KTR claimed the accusations against him were politically charged. He expressed his intention to tackle these cases through legal and constitutional means.

KTR reaffirmed his willingness to cooperate fully with investigations, including attending sessions with the ACB and ED. “I have nothing to conceal and will address all inquiries. My integrity is my strength,” he emphasized.

“I expressed my intention to attend the ACB inquiry with my lawyer. However, after waiting for thirty minutes, the ACB officials were reluctant to proceed without my lawyer’s presence. I attended the inquiry as a responsible citizen, yet they barred my lawyer from joining me,” he stated.

The former minister highlighted the need for his lawyer’s presence due to another case involving former BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy, noting that police had leaked statements to the media that misrepresented his comments.

Last month, the ACB filed an FIR against KTR, Arvind Kumar, and former Chief Engineer of HMDA B. L. N. Reddy for purported irregularities regarding payments made by HMDA to FEO and related entities, which allegedly violated standard financial protocols.

The FIR was registered under Sections 13 (1)(A) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, alongside Sections 409 and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code.