Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh high court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to Koneru Satyanarayana, the president of Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF), in the alleged NAAC bribery case. While granting bail, the court imposed several restrictions on Satyanarayana, including not influencing witnesses, cooperating with the investigation, not leaving the country without permission, and submitting sureties to the satisfaction of the investigating officer of CBI.
A case was registered against Satyanarayana and others from KLEF for allegedly bribing NAAC officials to give an A++ grade to KL University. Counsels Dushyant Reddy and Narra Srinivas argued that the petitioner was included as an accused based on some recorded phone conversations.
They sought anticipatory bail stating that Satyanarayana, 70, suffers from age-related problems and is no longer actively involved in university matters.
Arguing on behalf of CBI, PSP Suresh Kumar said the conversations of NAAC members and the petitioner were recorded with the approval of the Union home ministry. He also submitted the transcripts of the phone conversations in a sealed cover to the court. The voice samples of the arrested accused were sent for forensic analysis.
He further stated that the phones, laptops, and gold ornaments given to members of NAAC as bribes were purchased in the name of the university. He mentioned that the sellers are not cooperating with the investigation as the petitioner is using his position to influence them.
Considering the arguments on both sides, Justice K Srinivas Reddy granted anticipatory bail to Satyanarayana on medical grounds, while imposing several conditions.
