Hyderabad metropolitan sessions judge booked by ACB in bribery case

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana raided the residence of Nampally first Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Radha Krishna Murthy and booked him for demanding bribe from an accused in narcotics case.

The action came following the Hyderabad High Court order directing ACB for registering a bribery case against Murthy for allegedly demanding and accepting Rs 7.5 lakh as bribe. The deal is said to have taken place through mediators. The bribe was to grant the accused bail. The ACB registered a case and conducted searches at the judge's residence late Thursday night.

Marupaka Dattu, an MTech student was arrested in relation to an NDPS Act case by excise police of Ameerpet area on 13 September last year. He was remanded to judicial custody by the judge. Dattu's maternal uncle K Chandrasekhar engaged noted advocate T Sriranga Rao as legal counsel for filing bail application.The worried family, however, engaged some middlemen for the deal. Dattu's mother sold off her jewellery and organised funds to meet the bribe demand to get her son out of jail. And, the deal was through.

However, Sriranga Rao came to know of the bribe demand and lodged a complaint with the High Court on 10 November. Nampally Metropolitan Sessions Judge conducted the enquiry and submitted report to High Court, based on which the High Court directed the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a case against Radha Krishna Murthy and conduct investigation.