Pratyusha Death: 23 Years for Justice? SC Verdict Soon?

The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment in the long-pending appeals linked to the death of Telugu actress Pratyusha. A bench of Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Manmohan heard the plea of accused Gudipalli Siddhartha Reddy, who challenged his conviction. The bench also heard Pratyusha’s mother, Sarojinidevi, who pressed for a stricter sentence.

Pratyusha and Siddhartha Reddy were in a relationship from their Intermediate days. On February 23, 2002, they consumed pesticides mixed with a soft drink and were found in a critical state. They were rushed to a private hospital, where Pratyusha died the next day. Doctors confirmed organophosphate poisoning and ruled out suffocation and assault. Yet some forensic notes that mentioned marks on her body deepened her mother’s doubts.

The trial court convicted Siddhartha Reddy of abetment of suicide and attempt to commit suicide. It sentenced him to five years. In 2011, the High Court cut the sentence to two years and increased the fine. Sarojinidevi challenged the reduction, insisting that her daughter did not die in a simple suicide pact. Siddhartha Reddy argued that abetment did not stand because both consumed the poison together.

The case shows how slow the justice system can be. The incident happened in 2002. More than two decades later, the matter still waits for closure. Delays, appeals and sentence changes have kept the family without a final answer.

With the Supreme Court reserving its verdict, the case is finally nearing its end. The wait has already stretched far beyond what any family should endure.