In the Delhi Excise case, the Supreme Court alters the High Court’s decision giving YSR Congress MP’s son temporary bail
Raghav Magunta, the son of YSR Congress Party MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, was granted a 15-day interim release by the Delhi High Court on Friday, but the Supreme Court changed the decision and ordered him to appear in court on June 12.
In light of the fact that Magunta’s maternal grandmother had been taken to the hospital after collapsing in the toilet, the high court had granted Magunta temporary release.
Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal, who were sitting on a vacationing bench, noted the argument made by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju that Magunta’s maternal grandmother may be cared for by others.
In the case, the highest court ordered Magunta to surrender on June 12.
The court said, “After considering the submissions and also reviewing the respondent’s maternal grandmother’s medical records, in our opinion, the purpose for which respondent has been released could be served if he requested to surrender June 12, 2023.”
The ASG said that Magunta has now met his grandma and is free to go. Because they are unable to get normal bond, he said that these are all methods to obtain temporary bail.
ASG Raju had previously said that a trial judge had denied Magunta regular bail as well as temporary release due to his wife’s illness.
After considering the argument that Magunta’s maternal grandmother was ill, the top court Wednesday granted Magunta temporary release.
A trial judge had previously rejected his request for temporary release, stating that it could not be disregarded since the accused was facing charges for money laundering, a severe economic infraction.
The trial court had noted that it was unsatisfied with the alleged history of Magunta’s wife’s illness since nothing unique or significant about her health was mentioned in the papers presented to it.
The court had said that further members of the accused’s family could care for his wife, adding that Magunta had not argued that no one in the family was available to take on the responsibility. The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, who are looking into cases involving senior AAP leader and former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia, Magunta, and others, claim that irregularities were committed while changing the excise policy and ill-gotten gains were given to licence holders.
The policy was put into effect by the Delhi government on November 17, 2021, but it was abandoned at the end of September last year due to suspicions of corruption. Sisodia is now incarcerated.
