Cash-for-vote 2015 case: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy's prosecution unsustainable, Counsel tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Wednesday contended before the Supreme Court that his prosecution in the 2015 cash-for-vote case was unsustainable as the trap laid by the Anti-Corruption Bureau was "completely illegal" since it was done without any FIR.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi was heard the matter involving Reddy as an accused in the corruption case and fixed the matter for Thursday for further hearing.

The matter concerned allegations of offering bribe to then-nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson during the MLC Elections for Legislative Council. The bribe was purportedly aimed at securing Stephenson's vote in favor of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Revanth Reddy was then a member of TDP. He claimed innocence in the case.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Reddy, argued that his prosecution as an alleged bribe giver was legally unsustainable.

He submitted, no investigation can commence under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) without registration of an FIR.

"A trap was set up before an FIR was registered. The trap is completely illegal because no investigation can commence before registration of FIR under the CrPC. There was no general diary entry and no FIR," he said.

He pointed out that Reddy was being prosecuted under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as it stood in 2015. "Section 12 then dealt with abetment of offences under Sections 7 and 11, which applied only to bribe takers and not bribe givers," Rohatgi pointed out.

Rohatgi submitted that in 2010, under Sections 7 and 11, bribe givers were not covered under those provisions, only bribe takers were. The bribe giver was brought within the ambit of the law only after the 2018 amendment.

Reddy had been arrested after allegedly being caught red-handed by the ACB of Telangana on May 31, 2015, for illegal offering Rs 50 lakh to a nominated MLC, Elvis Stephenson, to vote in favour of the TDP candidate. Reddy was then a TDP MLA.