HC orders CID probe into theft of money offered to Tirumala temple

A single–judge Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court (HC) comprising Justice Gannamaneni Ramakrishna Prasad on Monday ordered a CID probe into all aspects of the alleged theft of money, including foreign currency, from the offerings made to Lord Venkateswara Swamy at the Tirumala temple, by an officer of the rank of Director General of Police (DGP).

Justice Ramakrishna Prasad directed that the investigation should include the role of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board and its officers and the de facto complainant, Assistant Vigilance and Security Officer Y. Satish Kumar, in the episode, and it should be completed by December 2, to which date the matter has been posted for next hearing.

Besides, the judge ordered that an ACB officer of the DGP rank should inquire into the movable and immovable assets, including bank accounts, of the accused C.V. Ravi Kumar (a clerk of the TTD) and his family and all types of alienations by them through registrations or otherwise from the point of their known sources of income.

More importantly, Justice Ramakrishna Prasad instructed the HC Registry to furnish a copy of this order to the Chief Justice for allocation of the issue of the legality of the Award passed by the Lok Adalat in September 2023 for consideration by a Division Bench.

The Court Officer of the HC has been directed to hand over 16 sealed bundles (of material) to the Registrar (Judicial) for handing them over to CID DGP.

While issuing the order, the judge expressed the opinion that the II Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate of Tirupati, in whose court the charge sheet had been filed, should be divested from all protocol duties with immediate effect for the sake of maintaining integrity and transparency on the administrative side.

Justice Ramakrishna Prasad noted that Mr. Ravi Kumar, who was a supervisor of Parakamani, and his family members offered to donate/gift properties worth ₹14.50 crore to the TTD and the same was approved by the TTD Chairman on June 19, 2023 without any resolution of the Board.

Also, he mentioned in the order that the omission of laying serious charge under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code against Mr. Ravi Kumar, who is a public servant, and the mere issue of a notice under Section 41-A of the Criminal Procedure Code was a significant lapse.