Overview

• Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria, granted an interim stay on September 26 in the CBI director’s challenge to the High Court ruling.
• The court orally observed that there is no infirmity if a court-constituted SIT assigns investigative work to a subordinate officer under its and the CBI director’s oversight.
• The Andhra Pradesh High Court had held that J. Venkat Rao was not a named SIT member and that allowing his participation deviated from the Supreme Court’s 2024 composition order.
• Petitioner Kaduru Chinnappanna alleged he was summoned by Rao, coerced into recording scripted statements, and videotaped, with the bench noting he could lodge a formal complaint.
• Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the officer functioned as a record keeper, the respondent was asked to file a counter, and the investigation continues under the Supreme Court’s stay.