Cash haul: Don't probe advocate without permission, HC tells police

 The high court on Wednesday directed the Vidhana Soudha police not to interrogate advocate H M Siddhartha without the permission of the court.  

Siddhartha was arrested and a probe was initiated against him after an amount of Rs 1.97 crore cash was found inside his car on the Vidhana Soudha premises in October 2016. The advocate has approached the High Court, seeking quashing of the proceedings against him.

Justice Anand Byrareddy asked State Public Prosecutor (SPP) P M Nawaz under what sections of the IPC had Siddhartha been booked. 

The SPP submitted that he was booked under Sections 102 and 41(d) of the CrPC. The judge said the police had still not made a solid case against the advocate, to which the SPP sought more time. The judge passed an order saying without the court’s permission, Siddhartha cannot be interrogated. The police, however, can continue investigation in the matter.

Siddhartha has said out of the Rs 1.97 crore he was carrying, he received Rs 1 crore from a man named Gaffar Baig. The SPP said Siddhartha had failed to offer satisfactory explanation to questions about the cash he was carrying.