Police are asked the Andhra High Court to hold off on taking action against the MLA in the EVM shattering case until June 5

Amaravati, 23 May The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday granted lawmaker Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) relief by preventing police from pursuing any further action against him till June 5 in the case pertaining to the damage of an electronic voting machine (EVM) during voting.

The Palnadu district MLA from the Macherla seat sought anticipatory release in order to avoid being arrested in this matter, and the High Court granted her request.

The court rescheduled the next hearing on June 6 but instructed the police not to arrest him until June 5.

Niranjan Reddy, the attorney for Ramakrishna Reddy, who had filed the lunch motion plea, said that while the event happened on May 13, the police report was filed on May 15.

After a video went viral on social media, the MLA was labeled as the primary culprit, despite the fact that the original FIR was filed against unidentified individuals.

The MLA’s legal representative told the judge that the video making the rounds on social media may be an altered version.

The event happened on May 13 while voting for the state assembly and Lok Sabha concurrently at a polling place in the Macherla constituency.

For the last two days, eight police teams have been looking for the MLA after the Election Commission of India issued an order for his immediate arrest.

The Palwai Gate polling booth’s polling officer and assistant polling officer were suspended earlier in the day by Chief Electoral Officer M.K. Meena after the MLA damaged the electronic voting machine.

He said that none of the cops disclosed any information about the event.

Police have charged Ramakrishna Reddy under sections 143, 147, 448, 427, 353, 452, and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections 131 and 135 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act, 1984. Reddy is running for re-election from Macherla as a candidate for the Yugoslavian Pradesh Congress Party (YSRCP) for a fifth consecutive term.

CEO Meena claims that these ten parts are the most severe, with sentences of up to seven years. He stated that while an initial complaint was filed against unidentified individuals, the MLA was identified as the primary accused after the review of video evidence. A note has also been filed with the relevant court.

Ramakrishna Reddy can be seen entering a polling place and breaking the electronic voting machine (EVM) on the ground in the footage that went viral on May 21.