📌 Key Points
- Supreme Court dismisses plea challenging Siddhartha Reddy’s conviction in Pratyusha’s death case.
- Court finds overwhelming evidence of death by poisoning, ruling out murder by strangulation.
- Allegation of rape against Siddhartha Reddy deemed difficult to prove at this stage.
- Siddhartha Reddy was earlier convicted of abetment of suicide and attempting suicide in the 2002 case.
The Supreme Court has upheld Siddhartha Reddy’s conviction in the Telugu actor Pratyusha’s death case, dismissing pleas challenging the ruling. The court cited evidence of poisoning as the cause of death and found rape allegations unsubstantiated, directing Reddy to surrender.
Supreme Court’s Verdict on Pratyusha’s Death
Directing Siddhartha Reddy to surrender in the Telugu actor Pratyusha’s death case, the Supreme Court turned down a plea challenging his conviction.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas filed by Telugu actor Pratyusha’s mother, P Sarojini Devi, and her former boyfriend, Siddhartha Reddy. The mother’s plea alleged foul play in the death, while Siddhartha’s plea challenged his conviction in the 2002 case. The court directed Siddhartha to surrender within four weeks.
“Murder by strangulation is ruled out. Two, overwhelming ocular and medical evidence proves death due to poisoning. Three, the offence of rape against the appellant accused is not made out. At the belated stage, it is difficult to allege that the cause of death was rape and strangulation,” the bench said.
Key Evidence: Poisoning Ruled as Cause of Death
The court also called for a postmortem report made by Dr B Muni Swamy that determined Pratyusha died by strangulation, terming it ‘unprofessional’ and calling its publication ‘premature’.
According to the remand report, the gist of the case against Siddhartha is that both he and Pratyusha had attempted to die by suicide. They had been in love for 6 years, and while Sarojini was okay with it, his mother did not approve of the alliance. The couple allegedly decided to die by suicide due to this.
Siddhartha Reddy Ordered to Surrender
On February 23, 2002, both went in a car, purchased a pesticide bottle, mixed it in a soft drink and consumed it. However, wisdom prevailed, and they drove to Care Hospital. Despite medical care, Pratyusha died, while Siddhartha survived. The case was widely discussed, and some prominent actors and politicians were linked to it.
However, after all the facts were placed in a trial court, Siddhartha was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment and asked to pay a fine of ₹ 6000 as he was found guilty of abetment of suicide and attempting suicide. In 2011, the Andhra Pradesh High Court reduced his jail term from six to two years. Sarojini had also challenged this reduced sentence in the SC.
The Supreme Court’s decision concludes a long legal battle surrounding Pratyusha’s tragic death. With the dismissal of the plea, Siddhartha Reddy is required to surrender, bringing a definitive end to this chapter of the case.
