Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday, April 24, directed the Subedari police in Warangal not to arrest Huzurabad MLA and BRS leader Padi Kaushik Reddy in connection with a criminal case registered against him on April 21.
The case alleges that Reddy threatened and demanded Rs 50 lakh from a granite businessman.
The directive came during a hearing on a petition filed by Kaushik Reddy seeking the quashing of the FIR.
Justice K Lakshman, presiding over the matter, questioned the police’s decision to register an FIR immediately after receiving the complaint at 9 pm, without first conducting a preliminary inquiry into the allegations.
The judge also expressed concern over the haste shown by the police in attempting to arrest the MLA while the investigation was still in its early stages, noting that the investigating officer had not yet obtained the call data records of either the businessman or the MLA.
The High Court has instructed the police not to arrest Kaushik Reddy until April 28, when the next hearing is scheduled. The court also allowed the investigation to continue and advised the MLA to cooperate with the police.
The case was registered based on a complaint filed by the wife of the granite businessman, who alleged that Reddy had previously received Rs 25 lakh in October 2023 under similar circumstances and was now demanding an additional Rs 50 lakh.
During the proceedings, the judge questioned the prosecution on why no complaint was filed in 2023 if such an incident had occurred then.
Kaushik Reddy’s counsel argued that the case was politically motivated, while the prosecution maintained that the MLA had threatened the businessman and demanded money.
This post was last modified on April 25, 2025 8:13 am