The High Court has provided relief to retired IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao in a case related to alleged tender irregularities during the YSR Congress government’s tenure. The court has stayed the proceedings in the Vijayawada ACB court until its final judgment is announced.
The High Court reserved its judgment on the quash petition filed by Venkateswara Rao, who sought dismissal of the case against him. The senior IPS officer had filed litigation in the High Court in 2022, challenging the case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in March 2021. The case revolves around allegations of irregularities in security equipment procurement tenders during Venkateswara Rao’s tenure as Intelligence Chief. Senior advocate B. Adinarayana Rao presented arguments on behalf of the petitioner.
According to the defence, the procurement process was initiated by the then Director General of Police (DGP). The DGP formed procurement and technical committees, while the petitioner merely suggested names of senior officers for these committees as requested. The defence argued there is no evidence to suggest that Venkateswara Rao misused his official position to influence the decisions of these committees. They clarified to the court that not a single rupee was spent on the purchase of security equipment.
The petitioner’s counsel highlighted that, without any actual expenditure taking place, the question of receiving undue benefit doesn’t arise in this case. The High Court will continue to hear the matter before announcing its final decision on whether to quash the case against the retired officer.
