A single-judge bench of the High Court comprising Justice M. Satyanarayana Murthy on Tuesday reserved the orders after hearing the arguments on the plea filed by IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao seeking protection from arrest.
Mr. Rao is facing charges of misconduct in the procurement of security equipment from an Israeli firm and other departmental affairs when he was posted as the Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence).
Financial loss
Appearing for the government, Advocate General S. Sriram said Mr. Rao’s contention that there was no financial loss to the State, and therefore no case could be registered is incorrect.
He observed that the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act do not mandate that cases can be registered only if a financial loss is caused.
Mr. Rao allegedly supported the purchase of equipment against the opinion of his senior colleagues and pursued the project even after the election code was imposed, by apparently hiding his son’s interest in the deal. Even in the litigation against his suspension, Mr. Rao did not implead anyone of the officers against whom he made allegations, the AG pointed out.
Mr. Rao’s counsel B. Adinarayana Rao maintained that the petitioner had the fundamental right to dignity and privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. He alleged that some junior IPS officers were creating prejudices with selfish motives to please the Chief Minister.
