The Andhra Pradesh government informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it has closed the criminal case registered against Sunitha Narreddy, daughter of slain former MP YS Vivekananda Reddy, and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer who was part of the murder investigation team.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of the state government’s submission that a police report had been filed in a local court seeking closure of the case. The bench accordingly disposed of the appeals challenging the FIR.
“The special leave petition is dismissed as withdrawn,” the Chief Justice said during the hearing.
The development comes in connection with the 2019 high-profile murder of YS Vivekananda Reddy, uncle of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was found dead at his residence in Pulivendula, Kadapa district, weeks ahead of the state assembly elections. The case, initially investigated by the Andhra Pradesh CID, was transferred to the CBI in July 2020.
During the previous YSRCP regime, Andhra Pradesh Police had registered an FIR in December 2023 against Sunitha Narreddy and CBI officer Ram Singh based on a complaint by M V Krishna Reddy, a former personal assistant of the slain MP. The FIR alleged that Krishna Reddy had been unlawfully detained at a guesthouse near Kadapa central prison and was pressured by the CBI officer to give false testimony at the behest of Sunitha Narreddy.
These allegations led to a magistrate’s direction for a fresh FIR, which Sunitha Narreddy and the CBI officer later challenged. The Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed their plea to quash the FIR in May 2024, prompting them to approach the Supreme Court.
However, with the state government now stating the matter has been closed and a closure report filed, the apex court noted that there was no need for further adjudication.
The broader investigation into the murder remains ongoing, with the CBI having filed a chargesheet in October 2021 and a supplementary chargesheet in January 2022. Multiple related petitions remain pending before the Supreme Court, including those concerning witness protection and bail issues.
