HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday directed the state government to reconsider transfer of IPS officer K Sreenivasa Reddy, who was heading the ACB SIT probing the liquor syndicate scam, and inform the court of its decision by next Friday. “Honest and upright officers should be given confidence and security of tenure in public interest,” the court noted.As per the court’s directive, the ACB on Monday submitted a status report on the liquor probe in a sealed cover. The court directed the ACB to submit its next report on June 11.After perusing the ACB report and hearing the arguments of counsels of petitioners who urged the court to monitor the liquor syndicate probe, a division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice P V Sanjay Kumar ordered that no transfer of the ACB officials should be done without prior permission from the court.There was no seeming urgency to transfer Sreenivasa Reddy despite objections raised by Anti-Corruption Bureau chief Boobathi Babu, the court said and made it clear that the ACB can approach the court seeking any specific directions with regard to the ongoing probe. At the same time, the government should also provide necessary support, including manpower and resources, to the ACB as required by it in order to have an effective investigation into the case.The bench has also directed the ACB to share the financial details of liquor shop owners with the Income Tax department, and it impleaded the chief commissioner of IT as one of the respondents in the case. The court observed that the involvement of political leaders and their family members in liquor trade needs to be looked into by the ACB. At lease 27 percent of the shops in Vizianagaram and 51 percent in Srikakulam are said to be benami as the licence holders have white ration cards and belong to BPL (Below Poverty Line) families.When the petitioner’s counsel asked about the court’s direction on a government circular that no case should be registered against MLAs, the bench said it would look into it next time, before adjourning the matter.Earlier, advocate-general A Sudarshan Reddy said there was no interfererence by the state government in the ACB probe. About 28 government officers were arrested by the ACB, he added.Petitioner’s counsel G Mohan Rao urged the Court to direct the ACB not to submit its report to the government henceforth, and wanted the court to grant liberty to the ACB to probe the liquor syndicates issue. Though several MLAs were involved in liquor trade, no case was registered against any one of them till date. Abrupt transfer of Sreenivasa Reddy took place because of pressures from the political bigwigs.There is a nexus between the politicians and liquor syndicates, he alleged.
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