AP Liquor Scam: Supreme Court Criticises High Court Order Deferring Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy's Bail Hearing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 15) disapproved of an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court that restrained the trial court from hearing the bail plea of YSRCP leader and former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy in the liquor scam case, until the High Court decided the State's plea seeking cancellation of bail granted earlier to four co-accused.The Court quashed the High Court's interim order and directed that Trial Court should decide the bail application on its own merit, without any influence of any observation made by the High Court."We are of the view that there was no good reason for the High Court directing the Special Judge to wait till the High Court takes a call on the cancellation application. Since the issue of someone's personal liberty is involved, top priority needs to be given to hearing the bail application," observed the bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswathanan.Senior Advocate Niranjan Reddy appeared for the petitioner.Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra (for State of Andhra Pradesh) submitted that the State had moved an interlocutory application that the bail granted to accused 4 should not be treated as precedent. He submitted chargesheet was not filed against him when bail was granted. Justice Pardiwala asked if chargesheet had been filed against Reddy, to which Luthra replied in the affirmative.Justice Viswanathan asked if the other accused persons, including Reddy, were a party to the case in which the High Court passed such orders. When Luthra replied that other co-accused persons were not a party, Luthra submitted that the actual prayer was for the High Court to clarify that the bail order shall not be treated as precedent for co-accused persons to claim parity.The Court went to directed that the High Court should not have passed such an order in a case where the matter pertained to the life and liberty of a person.It ordered: "This petition arises from the order passed by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh dated 9.10.2025 filed in criminal petition 10331/2025 by which the High Court while considering the State's challenge to the grant of regular bail to another accused(accused 4), in connection with FIR 21/2024 directed the Special Judge for the Trial of SPE and ACB, Additional District Judge, Vijayawada cases shall await the decision of High Court before deciding the bail application preferred by the petitioner herein and other co-accused persons. Heard Mr Niranjan Reddy, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner and Siddharth Luthra and Siddharth Agarwal, learned senior counsels for the State of Andhra Pradesh. At the outset, we may state that we don't approve of the impugned order passed by the High Court. The application filed by the State seeking cancellation of bail granted to accused 4 shall be heard on its own merits. At the same time, the bail application preferred by the petitioner herein arising from same FIR shall be heard on its own merits. We are of the view that there was no good reason for the High Court directing the Special Judge to wait till the High Court takes a call on the cancellation application. Since the issue is of someone's personal liberty is involved, top priority needs to be given to hearing the bail application. This has to do with the direct infringement of Article 21 of the Constitution. It is needless to say that the petitioner for the purpose of bail will have to make out his case and for the issue of cancellation is concerned, the High Court will look at its own. Both the applications shall be decided on their own merits without any influence of the observation made by us or by the High Court."Case Details: CHEVIREDDY BHASKAR REDDY Vs THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH|D No. 58657/2025Click Here To Read/Download Order

AP Liquor Scam: Supreme Court Criticises High Court Order Deferring Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy's Bail Hearing

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

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