KTR appears before court

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Friday appeared before the special ACB Court here in the Formula E-car race case.

Rama Rao and other accused in the case personally appeared in court in response to the summons.

Indian Administrative Service officer Arvind Kumar and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority's former Chief Engineer B.L.N. Reddy also appeared before the court.

The court later adjourned the hearing in the case to October 30.

This is the second time former minister Rama Rao has appeared before the court in the Formula E-car race case.

He had earlier appeared on July 31 but had sought exemption from personal appearance on August 25.

According to the charge sheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in March 2026, around Rs 55 crore was allegedly transferred to a foreign firm in violation of norms during the 2023 Formula E car race in Hyderabad.

KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly named, has been named accused number one in the case relating to the alleged misappropriation of public funds for conducting the Formula E race in Hyderabad during the BRS rule.

The ACB questioned KTR, Arvind Kumar, and B.L.N. Reddy multiple times in the case.

KTR, who was questioned by the ACB four times, has already dismissed the Formula E case as a “bogus case”.

Talking to the media after coming out of the court, Rama Rao said the Congress government booked a case against him for promoting electric vehicles and for bringing recognition to Hyderabad and Telangana by conducting a prestigious event.

He, however, said he had full faith in the judiciary and hence appeared in the court for the second time. "Whenever the court summons, I will appear," he said.

Several BRS leaders and a large number of party workers also reached Nampally Court Complex to show solidarity with KTR.

In November last year, then Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma gave his nod to prosecute Rama Rao in the Formula E race case.

In September, the ACB submitted its report and, through the state government, sought the Governor’s sanction to prosecute K.T. Rama Rao, Arvind Kumar, and others.

After nine months of an investigation into the alleged irregularities in hosting the Formula E race in Hyderabad, the ACB submitted its report to the government.

The BRS leader has been accused of receiving Rs 44 crore in the form of an electoral bond from a sponsorship company in exchange for granting it the right to organise the race.

The ACB in December 2024 booked a case against KTR; former Special Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Arvind Kumar; and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority's former Chief Engineer Reddy for alleged irregularities of Rs 54.88 crore in the Formula E deal.

After the Governor permitted the probe, an FIR was registered on a complaint by Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, M. Dana Kishore, who stated that foreign remittances were made without prior approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities, resulting in an additional tax burden on the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to the tune of Rs 8.06 crore.