Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh High Court will announce its decision today regarding the anticipatory bail plea of Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy.
The hearing was conducted on Monday by a single-judge bench led by Justice Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa. Advocate Posani Venkateswarlu, representing petitioners Namburi Seshagiri Rao and Cherukuri Siromani, argued that Reddy’s criminal record should be considered. He warned that allowing Reddy into the counting center could lead to witness intimidation and evidence tampering.
The public prosecutor argued that Reddy might incite violence during vote counting, referencing an incident where Reddy allegedly damaged EVMs on polling day. The court was informed that Reddy is involved in nine cases and has previously ignored court orders and evaded police surveillance.
The prosecutor added, “On May 23 at 8 pm, the police submitted a memo indicating that Reddy was accused of attacking CI Narayana Swamy.”
Reddy’s counsel, Niranjan Reddy, countered that his client needed to appoint agents for the vote counting on June 4 and requested temporary protection from arrest. He claimed that despite the High Court’s previous protection for the EVM incident, the police have filed additional cases to arrest Reddy.
Niranjan Reddy requested an interim order to protect his client from arrest until June 6. After hearing both sides, the court decided to deliver its verdict on Tuesday.
