What Is The Case
● Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju, a Member of Parliament (MP) from the YSR Congress party, was apprehended by the Crime Investigation Department of Andhra Pradesh (CID)
● Kanumuri Raghuram Krishnam Raju, a YSR Congress MP, had petitioned the court against a May 15 order of the Andhra Pradesh (AP) High Court refusing him bail.
● He said that the Andhra Pradesh CID had "mercilessly beaten him in custody." The politician also argued that the case was motivated by political animus.
● The State CID filed the FIR against Raju based on comments he made on various digital media platforms, which the Police stated amounted to "hate speech" and inciting hatred between castes and religions.
● Raju, a vocal critic of his own party's leader, Chief Minister (CM) YS Jaganmohan Reddy, had filed an application before a special CBI court a few weeks ago, requesting cancellation of bail granted to Reddy in pending CBI cases.
Contentions/ Arguments
● Raju has claimed in court that the CM is "misusing" the State police to frame his political rivals and hold them in jail "so that they could not accuse him of being the person who had spent time in jail as an under trial."
● Furthermore, it was argued that the High Court failed to consider the facts and circumstances of the case, and that his detention would violate his freedom of speech and expression.
● He said that the current case is "nothing more than a personal vendetta" of CM Reddy because Raju had filed an application to cancel bail given to Reddy in cases against the CM.
Court’s Order
● Later, Justices C Praveen Kumar and Lalitha Kanneganti of the High Court convened a Medical Board led by the “Superintendent of Government General Hospital, Guntur” to examine Raju, and it was also ordered that the examination be videotaped by hospital officials.
● "The videographed cassette must be kept in a sealed envelope and handed over to the Principal District Judge, Guntur District, who then in turn shall forward the same to the Vacation Officer of the High Court Mr.M.Nageswara Rao, who shall keep it in safe custody," said the High Court's late evening order.
● This order was issued in response to a letter filed with the High Court alleging that Raju had been beaten by police. The High Court has now scheduled this medical examination
● The lawmaker urged the Supreme Court to consider his bail case as soon as possible, claiming that the accused's health is "feeble," particularly since he recently underwent heart surgery.
● Raju also filed an application with the Supreme Court for an urgent listing.
What is your say on this case?
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