Andhra High Court grants Anticipatory Bail to former Intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao

Former Andhra Pradesh Intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao has been granted anticipatory bail by the High Court. It is learnt that the Anti-Corruption Bureau department has registered a case against AB Venkateswara Rao in connection with the alleged irregularities over the procurement of defence equipment. In this backdrop, a PIL was filed in the High Court to stop the government from arresting him. The court granted anticipatory bail.

AB Venkateswara Rao, former chief of AP Intelligence and senior IPS officer, has been suspended and the particular issue was in the Supreme Court. He filed a petition challenging the extension of the suspension for more than a year. The court on Tuesday heard the arguments of advocate Adinarayana Rao on behalf of AB Venkateswara Rao and senior advocate Chandra Uday Singh on behalf of the AP government.

The court in this backdrop has questioned whether suspension was the only option in the case or whether he could be posted elsewhere and opined that it would be better to take action after the allegations have been substantiated as it does not make sense to impose a suspension on an accused.

The advocate on behalf of the AP government has asked for a six-month deadline to complete the investigation into the allegations to which the court questioned as to how much time the government takes to complete the investigation.