Andhra Pradesh High Court denies relief to YSR leaders in FIRs for attack on TDP office, Naidu residence

The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of various leaders and activists of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu (YSR) Congress Party in cases related to their alleged attack on the party office of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and house of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in 2021..Justice VRK Krupa Sagar observed that criticism of other political parties or activities of their workers and leaders must not result in or lead to violence and breach of law. “The right of every individual for peaceful and undisturbed life shall be respected, however much the political parties and their supporters may resent the political opinions or activities of the other political parties and their supporters. Discipline in life, obedience to law always demands everyone to hear and heed the reasonable advices of the police on duty. The political parties and their leaders and supporters shall exercise control to the maximum in moments of excitement,” the Court said..While TDP was in opposition when the incidents had occurred and the YSR Congress was in power. Jogi Ramesh, a former minister, is an accused in the case related to violence outside the house of CM Naidu who was then the leader of opposition. In the case related to the violence outside Naidu’s residence, the police invoked Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Similar offences were added to the FIR related to the vandalism at the party office. .The counsel representing the accused, while seeking anticipatory bail, argued that the cases were a result of political vendetta. However, the Court opined that the investigating agency did not have the courage to conclude the investigation earlier.“The change of political party at the helm of affairs, as stated by petitioners, is the cause of implication of these petitioners after a long lapse of time. If that is the case, on the same touch stone it can possibly be said that it was earlier to that change the investigation commenced and kept dormant without finalization,” the judge said in one of the orders.The Court further said that the accused and their accomplices indulged in terrorizing their opponent political parties and subverted the democratic process. “There was larger conspiracy and to unearth the same there is the investigative need of interrogation. Looking at the facts of the case, such opinion of the prosecution agency cannot be denounced as not based on any genuine need,” it added..The Court also observed that mere tardiness in investigation by itself cannot be a ground to think that it is a manipulated prosecution.“The facts on record show that the accused reached to the house of Sri Nara Chandra Babu Naidu and committed these acts of violence though he was not the one who had made any statement against anyone who gathered there. Thus, in the name of holding a dharna they reached to a place and targeted a person who happened to be the leader of the opposite party. That in a political democracy events of such nature have always to be deprecated,” it added..Senior Counsel Ponnavolu Sudhakara Reddy and P Veera Reddy along with advocates Naidu Siva Rama Krishna, Kiran Tirumalasetti, Varun Byreddy,Y Nagi Reddy, Vijaya Lakshmi Pittu, Gajjala Mallikarjuna Reddy, Sasanka Bhuvanagiri, S Dushyanth Reddy, Deepak Mishra, Y Nagi Reddy, Ravi Chinnapureddy, VR Reddy Kovvuri and B Sesibhushan Rao represented the petitioners.Senior Counsel Siddharth Luthra, Posani Venkateswarlu and Public Prosecutor M Lakshmi Narayana represented the State..[Read Orders]