Supreme Court Bars YSR Congress MLA From Entering Counting Centre After EVM Smash Incident

The Supreme Court has barred YSR Congress MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy from entering the Macherla assembly constituency counting centre on June 4. Reddy allegedly smashed an EVM at a polling station on May 13. The apex court criticized the anticipatory bail and directed the Andhra Pradesh High Court to decide the related petition independently.

The Supreme Court has prohibited YSR Congress Party MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy from entering the counting centre for Macherla assembly constituency on June 4. This directive came after Reddy allegedly smashed an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at a polling station on May 13.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta reviewed a video of the incident. They expressed their consternation, terming his anticipatory bail as a 'sheer mockery of the justice system.' The court was resolute that such actions could not go unchecked given the gravity of the accusations.

Elections for the Andhra Pradesh assembly were held concurrently with the Lok Sabha polls, where Reddy, contesting from the ruling YSR Congress Party, allegedly vandalized the voting machines along with his supporters. The Supreme Court instructed that the upcoming petition hearing on June 6 by Andhra Pradesh High Court should proceed unaffected by this interim order.