The Andhra Pradesh High Court has admitted a petition seeking a CBI probe into Jana Sena Party president and state Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s alleged misuse of government funds to promote his recent film Hari Hara Veera Mallu.
The petition was filed by former IAS officer and Liberation Congress Party president G S R K R Vijay Kumar, who argued that Pawan promoted his personal film while holding public office.
He alleged that the minister also facilitated an increase in ticket prices for the movie, which amounted to abuse of authority.
The court directed that lawyers from the CBI and ACB be included as respondents in the case but rejected the petitioner’s request to issue notices before the preliminary hearing.
According to the petition, Pawan himself admitted to processing the file related to the ticket price hike, despite it not falling under his department’s purview - constituting misuse of power.
Vijay Kumar further argued that while Pawan claims acting in films is his livelihood, he has ignored the ministerial code of conduct, which bars members of the cabinet from engaging in business or profit-making activities.
“By publicly stating that he was acting in films for income, Pawan admitted to violating the rules,” he said, adding that this also falls under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which prohibits public representatives from using their positions for personal gain.
Vijay Kumar said he had already written to the Chief Secretary and ACB Director General seeking Pawan’s dismissal from the cabinet, but when no action was taken, he approached the High Court.
After admitting the case, the court ordered that CBI and ACB counsel be added to the registry.
The petitioner urged the court to order a CBI probe into Pawan’s alleged misuse of state resources for film promotions and his intervention in ticket pricing.
The hearing has been adjourned for one week.
