The Supreme Court on Friday declined to grant any relief to Kasireddy Rajasekhar Reddy, an IT advisor to former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and an accused in the alleged Andhra Pradesh liquor scam case.

The top court said it found no merit in the appeal while hearing a petition filed against his arrest.

However, the Supreme Court stated that Reddy, who is currently in judicial custody, is free to apply for regular bail before the trial court.

If such an application is filed, the trial court must hear and decide the bail plea in accordance with the law, the top court observed. However, the apex court did not provide any immediate relief to Rajeshekar Reddy, who is the main suspect in the case.

Kasireddy Rajashekar Reddy was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), instituted by the Andhra Pradesh government to probe the alleged scam on April 21 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad, Telangana.

The SIT named several individuals in its investigation, including Kasireddy, who was called the ‘kingpin of the scam’.

Kasireddy admitted to formulating an excise policy with the approval of former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to generate revenue for the government and party. However, he refused to sign a confessional statement, the report said.

Kasireddy’s remand report also stated that Kasireddy received liquor sales data every five days, calculated the kickbacks to be collected, and routed the money through intermediaries. The funds were then allegedly sent to several senior YSRCP leaders, including Rajampet MP P V Midhun Reddy, former MP V Vijayasai Reddy and Sajjala Sridhar Reddy.