The Telangana government on Tuesday filed two Special Leave Petitions in Supreme Court seeking to set aside the directions of Telangana High Court verdicts over assigning investigation into BRS MLAs’ poaching attempt case to the CBI.
In one SLP, the State challenged the verdict of the High Court’s Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dismissing all six writ appeal petitions filed by it seeking to set aside a single judge direction instructing the CBI to probe into the poaching attempt case. The second SLP was filed challenging the verdict of Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy verdict ordering CBI investigation into the poaching attempt case. These two pleas were yet to be listed for hearing.
Earlier, here in Hyderabad, the State government filed an interim application before the Bench of Justice B. Vijayasen Reddy requesting the Judge to suspend the order issued on December 26, 2022 for three weeks facilitating it to move the Supreme Court. Advocate-General B.S. Prasad, moving the IA, made a mention before Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, about the matter in the morning. The Judge posted it for hearing at 2.30 p.m.
The AG told the Bench that on Monday the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Tukaramji had dismissed all the six writ appeals filed by the State government over technical grounds. The Division Bench pronounced the verdict based on criminal jurisdiction issue. This matter thus pertained to intra-court appeal. The appeal against the Bench’s direction could not be made before Telangana High Court, the AG said.
The appeal should be moved by the State before the Supreme Court, the AG said. He told the Bench that the CBI might insist for transfer of the case and handing over of the files pertaining to the poaching attempt case in the backdrop of the Division Bench dismissing all appeal petitions of the State.
The AG said that the State government was hopeful of securing interim relief from the SC since the Division Bench did not adjudicate the appeals based on merits. The appeals were dismissed only on technical grounds of criminal jurisdiction, the AG said. Senior counsels appearing for the three accused in the case and BJP general secretary Premender Reddy opposed the plea of the AG.
They contended that the AG’s contentions could not be accepted since the Doctrine of Merger applied to the present case. They argued that State had gone for an appeal against the single Judge order before the Division Bench headed by the CJ. After the Division Bench dismissed the batch of appeals, the State cannot come before the single Judge seeking suspension of the order for CBI probe in the case, they said. This was against the Doctrine of Merger, they argued.
Deputy Solicitor General of India Gadi Praveen Kumar informed the Bench that CBI had already written to Telangana Chief Secretary to hand over files pertaining to the poaching attempt case. After hearing submissions of all counsels, Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy directed the AG to secure permission or oral orders of the Chief Justice for hearing of the interim application. The AG told the Judge that he would mention about the matter before the Chief Justice on Wednesday and come back to the Judge after the lunch break session.
