ANANTAPUR: The District and Sessions Court on Tuesday extended the remand of accused in the Paritala Ravindra murder case to March 8 and also adjourned the case till that date.

Judge K. Gaddenna said court was ready to take up the trial in the case but the approach of the accused in getting the counsel engaged on their behalf was delaying the process.

Except T. Konda Reddy, all other 12 accused in the case, including G. Suryanarayana Reddy alias Suri and J. Srinivasa Reddy alias Moddu Sreenu, were produced in the court.

Konda Reddy was absent due to ill health. Suri was brought from district jail at Reddypalli near here and others were brought from Cherlapalli and Chanchalguda jails in Hyderabad.

Judge angry

The judge got serious with one of the accused K. Ramamohan Reddy for not engaging a counsel so far.

The court will appoint a lawyer to argue on his behalf if he delayed it further.

Mr. Reddy told the court that he would engage a counsel by the next hearing in the case.

On his petition to allow him to speak to mediapersons, the judge said it was not under his purview and it was up to him and the security to allow him or not to speak to the media outside the court.

On the petitions by a few accused that they were being hand cuffed by the police in the transit the judge said he would direct the police once again against it.

Pleas rejected

On the bail petitions filed by five of the accused in the case, the Judge rejected the pleas stating that it was rejected once by the High Court and a lower court could not sanction bail against the higher court decision.

The defence lawyers contested the court's view, but in vain.

CBI opposes bail

Counsel for CBI Venkoba Rao also opposed the bail petitions.

Arguing in favour of the petitioners, the defence lawyers said the CBI had not objected to bail petitions even in case of assassination of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, but why the investigating agency was opposing here.

The CBI counsel argued that there was no comparison of this case with the two cases cited.

The court allowed the accused to speak to their kin on the court premises but did not take a decision on the petition of Rekhamaiah, one of the accused, to shift him to Mahabubnagar jail for one month as his father and son had died recently and he wanted to stay closer to the family.

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