HC refuses to quash FIR against KTR in graft case

Hyderabad The Telangana high court on Tuesday refused to quash the first information report (FIR) against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of Formula-E race in Hyderabad during the previous regime, removing the protection against the arrest given to him.

On December 31, the high court concluded the hearing and reserved its order on the petition filed by KTR — as the BRS leader is popularly known — seeking the dismissal of the FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which alleged that the former minister authorised payments to the tune of ₹55 crore, most of it in foreign currency, to Formula E Organisation Ltd — the organiser of Formula E races — without necessary approvals.

A single-judge bench of Justice K Lakshman refused to quash the FIR, saying the allegations indicate that KTR directed the Hyderabad metropolitan development authority (HMDA) to pay huge sums of money to a foreign company without any approval from the state cabinet or the finance department.

“Whether the petitioner directed the said payments with a dishonest intention to cause gain to himself or third parties is required to be investigated. The allegations when read together make out a prima facie case of wrongdoing and misappropriation of funds of the HMDA,” the 35-page order, reviewed by HT, said.

Asking the BRS leader to cooperate with the probe, the judge said the investigating agency should have a reasonable opportunity to investigate the allegations and collect evidence. “Therefore, this court cannot thwart the investigation in the present case,” Justice Lakshman said.

In an interim order on December 20 last year, the court had restricted ACB from arresting KTR, son of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, until the orders were pronounced and the present order removed that protection.

KTR has been booked under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

A senior BRS functionary privy to the development said KTR will challenge the high court’s order before the Supreme Court in a day or two. The ACB, however, filed a caveat plea in the top court to pre-empt KTR from seeking a stay on the HC order.

KTR, meanwhile, expressed confidence that truth would triumph in the end and he would come back stronger. He said he respects the judiciary and has an unwavering belief that justice will prevail.

“Mark my words, our comeback will be stronger than this setback. Your lies won’t shatter me. Your words won’t diminish me. Your actions won’t obscure my vision. This cacophony won’t silence me! Today’s obstacles will give way to tomorrow’s triumph,” he said in a post on X, in an apparent attack on the Congress government.

Reacting to the development, Telangana Congress chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud said the HC did not believe KTR’s claim of innocence. “It has set aside the arguments of KTR and the BRS that there was no corruption in the conduct of Formula-E race,” he said.

Stating it was now certain that KTR would go to jail, Goud said the BRS leader was raising a hue and cry only out of fear and frustration. “If KTR thinks it is a frivolous case, why is he approaching the Supreme Court? He is afraid of even facing the questioning by the ACB authorities,” Goud said.