SC rejects validity of arrest of prime accused in Andhra Pradesh liquor scam case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said it is not necessary for the authorities to furnish full details for an offence while informing the accused about the grounds of arrest.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan dismissed an appeal filed by Kasireddy Upender Reddy, questioning validity of the arrest of his son Kessireddy Raja Shekhar, the prime accused in Andhra Pradesh liquor scam case, rejecting the claims that he was not supplied the meaningful grounds of arrest.

"It is difficult for us to take the view that the grounds do not make any sense or are not meaningful or are just an eyewash," the bench said in its judgment on May 23, 2025, having examined facts of the case.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the appellant, assailed the AP High Court's order of May 8, 2025 which dismissed a writ of habeas corpus.

Relying upon Vihaan Kumar Vs State of Haryana (2025), he said the arrest of the accused could be declared as illegal for non supply of appropriate and meaningful grounds of arrest, rendering his continued detention unlawful.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the Andhra Pradesh government, said the case was registered on September 23, 2024 and the son of the appellant was named as the prime accused. His arrest on April 21, 2025 and remand do not suffer any infirmity. In the case, the accused was supplied the grounds of the arrest and produced before a court.

After hearing the counsel, the bench found it is not in dispute that the grounds of arrest were supplied to the arrestee, but the appellant claimed that those grounds are not meaningful and are bereft of necessary essential information.

The bench said the object underlying the provision that the grounds of arrest should be communicated to the person arrested has been very succinctly explained in the Vihaan Kumar judgment. In the case at hand, the grounds of the arrest was supplied to him, it noted.

The court allowed Kessireddy Raja Shekhar Reddy, currently in judicial custody, to apply for regular bail before the competent court, which would be taken up for hearing at the earliest and decided in accordance with law.

It was alleged the prime accused in the AP liquor scam during the previous YSRCP regime, allegedly used film production as a front to launder black money.