Supreme Court Appoints Special Prosecutor in Telangana

The Supreme Court of India has announced the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle the 2015 cash-for-vote scam trial involving Telangana Chief Minister Anumala Revanth Reddy. The decision came after hearing a plea from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy and others to transfer the trial from Telangana to Bhopal, citing concerns over a fair trial as Reddy is both the Chief Minister and Home Minister of the state. The court emphasized the importance of an unbiased trial and indicated confidence in the impartiality of the Telangana judiciary. The case involves allegations that Reddy, then a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA, attempted to bribe nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote for a TDP candidate in the legislative council elections. The Supreme Court's move aims to bolster public confidence in the judicial process. A formal order will be passed after consultations with the Telangana judiciary.