Former Minister KTR filed a quash petition in the High Court requesting an urgent hearing amid the speculations that he may be arrested very soon.
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The ACB registered the case on December 19, alleging misuse of government funds of 55 Crore during the Formula E race conducted last year while the BRS was in power.
The FIR has been filed under Sections 13(1)(A) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, as well as Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
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KTR already explained that he had to transfer 55 Crore to the organizers as they were contemplating to pull out of Hyderabad due to the lack of sponsors.
KTR says it was necessary to secure the race for Hyderabad, promote electric vehicles, and attract investments, claiming it brought in significant economic benefits. On top of it, Hyderabad’s Brand image would take a beating if the race got canceled hence the assistance, KTR said.
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While this looks plain on paper, the legal implications would not go away.
The established procedures require administrative sanction from the state government, in concurrence with the Finance Department, for expenditures exceeding Rs 10 crore. But no such sanctions were taken. There is no approval by the state cabinet and the Finance Department had no idea.
Also, the amounts were transferred to Formula E Operations Limited (FEO), a company registered under UK laws.
The RBI should be intimated when the Government transfers money to Foreign Bank accounts but no such approvals were taken.
So, this case certainly has the merits of prosecuting KTR. We will have to see what the courts decide.
We will have to see if the court sees this only as a procedural lapse or embezzlement of funds.
