ACB Trap In 2012 Was Illegal, Says Revanth
New Delhi: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the trap laid by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in the 2015 cash-for-votes case was “completely illegal” as it was done without any FIR being registered.
On May 31, 2015, Congress leader Revanth Reddy, then with Telugu Desam, was arrested by the ACB for allegedly paying a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to MLA candidate Elvis Stephenson for supporting TD candidate Vem Narendar Reddy in the Legislative Council elections.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Revanth Reddy on Wednesday, argued before a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi that his trial as an alleged briber was legally unsustainable.
“A trap was laid before an FIR was registered. The trap is completely illegal because no investigation can be initiated before an FIR is registered under CrPC. There was no general diary entry and no FIR,” Rohatgi said.
The senior lawyer argued that the three persons were allegedly caught offering bribes and Revanth Reddy was prosecuted under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which applies only to those who take bribes and not to those who give bribes.
“I am being prosecuted under Section 12 of the PC Act as it stands in 2015. This is about abetment of offenses under Sections 7 and 11,” Rohatgi said. he said.
He said bribery was only brought under the law after the amendment in 2018.
Even if the allegations attract Sections 7, 11 and 12 of the PC Act, these provisions apply only to acts done by a public servant in the discharge of his official duty, Rohatgi said. He said voting or abstaining in Legislative Council elections was not an official act within the meaning of the law.
The hearing on the issue will continue on Thursday. Besides Reddy, ACB had also arrested other suspects. They were all later released on bail.
In July 2015, the ACB filed a chargesheet against Revanth Reddy and others for alleged offenses under the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
ACB had later claimed to have collected “conclusive evidence” against the accused in the form of audio and video recordings and recovered Rs 50 lakh as advance.
