Cash-for-bail: Retired judge gets bail

Justice Samudrala Govindarajulu of the High Court on Thursday granted bail to retired judge TV Chalapathi Rao in the cash-for-bail scam case involving former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy.

While granting the bail, the judge observed that offence committed by the accused was not grave enough to punish him with death or life imprisonment. He took into consideration the fact that the investigation was over, final charge-sheet was filed, and the other accused in the case were granted bail.

Justice Govindarajulu directed Chalapathi Rao to produce two sureties of `1 lakh each and deposit his passport in the ACB court to avail bail.  The High Court had already granted bail to suspended judges T Pattabhirama Rao, K Lakshminarasimha Rao and D Prabhakar Rao as well as to Karnataka legislators G Somasekhar Reddy, TH Suresh Babu, and G Dasaratharami Reddy in the bail scam case. It dismissed the ACB’s petition challenging bail granted by the ACB court to Pattabhirama Rao’s son Ravichandra and a junior lawyer Aditya.