New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from an accused on the pleas seeking cancellation of his bail in connection with the 2019 murder of former Congress MP Y S Vivekananda Reddy.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of the submissions of a counsel for the CBI and advocate Jesal Wahi, appearing for Suneetha Narreddy, daughter of Vivekananda, against the Telangana High Court order granting bail to Gajjala Uday Kumar Reddy.

“Issue notice and tag these petitions with the pending ones,” the CJI said.

Suneetha, in her plea, has assailed the August 21, 2024 order of the high court granting regular bail to Gajjala, believed to be a close associate of Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy from the YSR Congress party, on execution of a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh with two sureties each of equal sum.

“There are grave and serious allegations made against the respondent number 1 as he is found to be one of the conspirators to the murder of the deceased as well as instrumental in destruction of vital evidence and registering false FIR against the CBI officer,” the plea said.

Seeking the cancellation of bail, the daughter said the relief was granted to him at a “crucial juncture” when the trial was about to commence.

There was a similar plea fled by the CBI against the high court order, indicating a series of litigations filed by both sides in the case.

On December 6, last year, the top court sought responses from the CBI and Y S Bhaskar Reddy, father of Kadapa MP Y S Avinash Reddy on a plea against his bail in the murder case.

The court then issued the notices on a plea of Suneetha seeking cancellation of bail granted by the Telangana High Court to Bhaskar Reddy.

Vivekananda, the uncle of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, was found murdered at his home in Pulivendula, Kadapa district, in March, 2019.

The CBI, which took over the investigation in 2020, alleged a complex conspiracy involving multiple persons.

On November 19, 2024, the top court sought responses from Andhra Pradesh Police and others on two separate pleas filed by Suneetha and CBI official Ram Singh.

The pleas sought quashing of criminal proceedings against Suneetha and the CBI official involved in the murder investigation.

They had alleged the state police lodged a counter FIR against them to derail the ongoing investigation and urged the top court to quash the criminal proceedings.

Suneetha was named as an accused along with CBI officer Singh in a criminal case lodged by M V Krishna Reddy, former personal assistant to Vivekananda.

The top court had also issued notices on a separate plea that challenged the grant of bail to Y S Avinash, one of the accused in the 2019 murder of the former MP, alleging he tampered with the evidence and attempted to lure an approver in the case.

The top court has taken up multiple petitions related to the case, including challenges to the bail orders and allegations of witness intimidation.

Another petition was filed against the regular bail granted to another accused D Siva Shankar Reddy in the case.

The case has witnessed many twists and turns, starting with the crime which took place weeks before the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections in 2019, raising suspicions of political motives.

Initially investigated by the state police, the case was transferred to the CBI in 2020, and the agency arrested Y S Bhaskar on April 16, 2023, alleging his involvement in the murder conspiracy. PTI SJK AMK