Former High Court Judge Accuses Two Men of Defrauding Him of Rs 2.5 Crore in Alleged BJP Electoral Bond Scheme

Former High Court judge Justice DSR Varma has lodged a criminal complaint, claiming he was deceived by two individuals who purportedly took Rs 2.5 crore from him under the pretense of purchasing electoral bonds for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In an FIR filed at a Hyderabad police station on February 27, the retired judge, who served until 2010, asserted that despite his family arranging and disbursing various sums totaling Rs 2.5 crore to the two individuals for the acquisition of electoral bonds, no such bonds were ever received.

According to the criminal complaint, the bonds were intended to be "in favor of the government at the Center since 2021," implicating the BJP-led administration. The complaint names two individuals, identified as Narendran and Sarath Reddy, as the accused parties.
Narendran, who is a known person of our relatives took advantage of his introduction and came to me and sought for some amounts to the party in the center which will be acknowledged by the way of bonds. There on Mr. Sarath Reddy was deputed to collect the amounts (Mr. Sarath Reddy is said to be involved in a construction company by name Atmiya Homes),Bar and Bench reported.

The former judge further claimed that Sarath Reddy pledged to facilitate a comfortable settlement for the judge and his grandchildren in the United States, leveraging the judge's previous tenure in the High Courts of Allahabad and Andhra Pradesh. Convinced by his assurances, the former judge indicated that his daughters and wife transmitted various sums totaling Rs 2.5 crore to the two individuals throughout 2021, as evidenced by WhatsApp messages. However, despite the substantial financial transfers, the complaint asserted that no bonds were ever issued as promised.

According to a Bar and Bench report, The complaint further stated that no favour was done to the former judge or his grandchildren in the US either, although the former judge added that this aspect was not very relevant or significant. The complaint highlighted that the actions of the accused men were in clear violation of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court deprecating the collection of amounts for electoral bounds.