A Supreme Court holiday bench will hear the YSRCP's civic poll plea and the Vijayan family's FIR challenges. The cases raise concerns over electoral access and pre-FIR hearing rights.
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Newdelhi,Oct 20, 2026 10:06 IST
A special bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear two matters on Wednesday, including pleas linked to an alleged bribery case and allegations that violence prevented opposition candidates from filing nominations for civic body elections in Andhra Pradesh, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana will hear a plea by the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party and petitions filed by former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his relatives. The court will sit during the Dussehra holidays.
The YSRCP has challenged the Andhra Pradesh High Court's October 18 order refusing to extend the nomination period for urban local body elections by one day. The party, led by former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, has alleged that widespread violence prevented several of its candidates from filing their nominations.
The party has sought police protection for its candidates, an extension of the nomination deadline, and additional and alternative centres where candidates can safely submit their papers.
In its plea, filed by general secretary Lella Appireddy through advocate Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, the YSRCP alleged that several candidates were assaulted and physically prevented from reaching nomination centres. The nomination period began on October 16 and ended on October 18, according to PTI.
The high court dismissed the party's application for an extension, saying the deadline had expired and that extending it would amount to interference in the election process.
According to the Supreme Court website, the special bench is also scheduled to consider petitions filed by Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas. They have challenged a Kerala High Court order dismissing their requests to appeal against a single judge's direction to register a first information report against them in the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited bribery case.
On October 15, the Kerala High Court rejected their applications to appeal against the single judge's October 9 order. It held that an accused in a corruption case had no legal right to be heard before an FIR was registered.
Vijayan, Veena and Riyas had argued that the single judge issued the direction without hearing them. They also claimed that the original petition was in the form of a public interest litigation and should, therefore, have been heard by a division bench dealing with such cases.
The appeals were filed after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau's Special Investigation Unit-1 registered two FIRs against Vijayan and his family members in connection with the alleged bribery case.
On October 9, the Kerala High Court directed the bureau to register a case based on a report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate to the state police. The ED had sought the registration of a case based on evidence gathered during its investigation and searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency has alleged that CMRL fraudulently paid Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, in the guise of payments for IT consultancy services.
The Supreme Court's special bench will, therefore, consider the YSRCP's request for relief over the Andhra Pradesh civic poll nominations and the petitions challenging the registration of FIRs in the alleged CMRL bribery case.
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