The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court reserved its order on G. Janardhana Reddy’s bail application for Wednesday. Reddy faces allegations of being paid ₹20 crore by a Bengaluru-based investment firm Ambidant Marketing to bribe the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court questioned the decision of the Central Crime Branch to make Reddy the sixth accused in the case based on the alleged confession of Ambidant’s owner Syed Fareed Ahmed.
"Are there any complaints against Janardhana Reddy? Were the charges against him filed merely on the statement of accused number one,” the court questioned the prosecution.
According to Syed, who was arrested for defrauding investors of over ₹600 crore, a total of ₹20 crore — ₹18 crore in gold and ₹2 crore in cash — had been delivered to Reddy’s aide Ali Khan.
Lawyers representing the former minister and mining baron argued that the CCB had arrested Reddy even though he was not involved, and that it had neither established any link with Ambidant Marketing nor had made any recovery from him so far. “His arrest is without any evidence and witnesses,” said the defence counsel.
The prosecution argued that granting bail to Reddy would hamper their investigations.
The court has asked the prosecution to provide evidence on the link between the former minister and Ambidant.
The CCB has charged Reddy under Sections 204 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, and multiple sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Ali Khan has filed an affidavit before the court challenging the CCB’s allegation of mediating the alleged deal between Fareed and Reddy.
