Former Telangana minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao has filed a discharge petition in the Formula E case before the ACB special court, asking to be removed from the proceedings on the ground that there are insufficient grounds to continue against him. The court has issued notice to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and listed the matter for hearing on October 30.
According to ACB sources cited by the Times of India, Rama Rao moved the petition through his advocate on October 9 under Section 262(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The petition seeks his discharge from the case before the court proceeds further on the allegations against him.
An ACB official said the agency would file a counter to the petition. “We will file a counter to the discharge petition. So far, only KTR, who represents Sircilla in the assembly, has moved a petition and the other accused have not,” the official was quoted as saying.
The ACB registered the case in December 2024 against Rama Rao and others. The agency has alleged that Rs 55 crore was diverted to the UK-based Formula E Organisation in violation of prescribed procedures. The allegation concerns the handling of funds connected with the Formula E event and involves decisions taken within the state’s municipal administration and urban development machinery.
The ACB filed a chargesheet in March 2026 naming Rama Rao, former municipal administration special chief secretary Arvind Kumar, former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority chief engineer BLN Reddy, Ace Nxt Gen executive G Kiran Malleswara Rao and Formula E Organisation representative Alberto Longo.
The case therefore involves not only a former minister but also senior officials and private-sector representatives connected with the event’s financial and administrative arrangements. The chargesheet is the agency’s formal account of the allegations, while the discharge petition now places the question of whether the case should proceed against Rama Rao before the special court.
The latest court development follows an ACB memo filed on September 26 seeking the impounding of the passports of four accused persons, including Rama Rao, Arvind Kumar, BLN Reddy and Kiran Malleswara Rao. The material supplied for this report does not record the court’s decision on that request.
The October 30 hearing will allow the ACB to respond formally to Rama Rao’s discharge plea. The court’s consideration of the petition will determine the next procedural step in the case against him.
