News Anchor Kommineni Srinivasa Rao Arrested Over Controversial TV Debate On Amaravati
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News anchor, Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, is accused of not denouncing derogatory comments made by a panelist on air about women from the Amaravati region, among other charges.
A senior news anchor, Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, was arrested by Andhra Pradesh Police in connection with a case involving offensive comments made on air about Amaravati.
The journalist, who worked for Sakshi TV, was taken into custody at his residence in Hyderabad and shifted to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.
The arrest comes based on a recent episode of the 'KSR Live Show' aired on Sakshi TV, during which journalist VVR Krishnamraju made derogatory remarks, stating, 'Amaravati is not a capital of goddesses, but a capital of prostitutes."
Kommineni, who hosted the show, is accused of not denouncing his remarks and allegedly encouraging and furthering them during the broadcast.
Police also said they are searching for Krishnam Raju, who has gone missing from his home in Vijayawada.
People from different areas had filed several complaints with the police about the TV debate on Sakshi TV, where it was claimed that insulting remarks were made about women from the Amaravati region.
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy slammed the Chandrababu Naidu government for the arrest and said that the anchor was picked up for the 'comments he did not make."
First Published:
June 10, 2025, 09:33 IST
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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
SC orders release of senior Telangana journalist held for panellist's remarks
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the immediate release of senior journalist and Sakshi TV anchor Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, who was arrested by Andhra Pradesh police on June 9 over controversial comments made by a panellist during a televised debate, noting that Rao had not made the objectionable remarks himself and that 'freedom of journalistic expression deserves protection'. A division bench of the Supreme Court comprising justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and justice Manmohan issued an order directing the police to release him on bail as per the conditions to be suggested by the local court in Mangalagiri in Guntur district. Rao, a 70-year-old veteran journalist, was arrested from his Hyderabad residence and transported to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh after a police complaint was filed over a live broadcast of the KSR Live Show on June 6. During the show, panelist and fellow journalist VVR Krishnam Raju allegedly made deeply derogatory and obscene remarks against the women in the Amaravati region. While Krishnam Raju was named accused No. 1 (A-1) in the case, Rao was named A-2. The complaint, filed by Kambampati Sireesha, a Dalit leader of the Amaravati Capital Farmers' Joint Action Committee, accused the show of humiliating the self-respect of Amaravati's women, especially Dalit women. She also alleged that the Sakshi TV management appeared to have encouraged the statement. Following the complaint, the police booked Rao, Raju and Sakshi TV management under multiple laws, including the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Section 67 of the IT Act (publishing obscene material electronically), and several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), such as Sections 79 (outraging a woman's modesty) and 196 (promoting enmity between groups). Rao was produced before the additional judicial magistrate of first class-cum-civil judge court in Mangalagiri, which remanded him to judicial custody for two weeks. On Thursday, he moved the Supreme Court seeking bail. Arguing on behalf of Rao, senior advocate Siddharth Dave said his client was only an anchor hosting the debate on Sakshi television channel and the alleged abusive remarks were made by a panellist. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the state government, said Kommineni was goading and abetting the man who was making that statement. 'He was laughing, when the panelist was using abusive language against women of Amaravati,' he said. The bench asked the state how the petitioner could be arrested for the statements made by someone else. 'When someone makes an outrageous statement, we laugh it off. They can't be termed co-conspirators,' the bench said. The bench also mentioned the need to protect journalistic freedom. The bench passed the order Kommineni was nowhere concerned with the statement made by one of the participants in the debate. It said the accused be released on bail subject to the conditions to be imposed by the trial court. Meanwhile, the Mangalagiri court on Thursday remanded Krishnam Raju, who was arrested by the police the previous night at Visakhapatnam, to judicial custody till June 26, for his alleged derogatory comments against Amaravati women. People familiar with the matter said in the remand report filed in the court, the police said Krishnam Raju admitted to have made the derogatory comments as he had utter contempt for chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and ruling Telugu Desam Party. 'Despite the outrage over his derogatory statements that deeply insulted the women of the Amaravati region, Krishnam Raju has not issued an apology. Instead, he reportedly went a step further by creating and releasing videos on YouTube defending and justifying his remarks, stating there was nothing wrong in what he said,' the police said in the report. They further told the court that Krishnam Raju, being fully aware that Amaravati is home to people from various communities, castes, and religions, deliberately made such inflammatory statements. His intention, they alleged, was to demean and humiliate all women of the region — especially Dalit and tribal women — thereby hurting their dignity and self-respect.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
TV anchor not liable for panellist's statement: Supreme Court
Supreme Court (Photo: ANI) NEW DELHI: Putting a premium on the right to free speech and expression, Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of Sakshi TV anchor K Srinivasa Rao, who was held by Andhra police for abetting alleged derogatory and defamatory statements by a panelist on his live show on Amaravati. Justices Mishra and Manmohan said, "Rao has not made the statement. His journalistic participation in a live TV show deserves to be protected, so as that of his fundamental right to free speech. Rao shall be released on bail on conditions to be imposed by the trial court." Guest called Amaravati 'capital of sex workers' On June 6, political analyst V V R Krishnamraju had appeared as a panelist on a show anchored by Rao on Sakshi TV, considered a mouthpiece of opposition YSR Congress Party which while in govt had abrogated previous TDP dispensation's Amaravati capital project, and referred to the capital as 'capital of sex workers". Appearing for the 70-year-old Rao, senior advocate Siddharth Dave told a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan that he was only hosting the TV show and that the statement is not attributed to him but to a panellist over whom he had no control. Opposing the plea challenging the arrest, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Sidharth Luthra said that when the offending and derogatory statement was made against women of Andhra Pradesh, the TV anchor, instead of stopping the panellist, was seen encouragingly laughing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play Chess on Your PC, Free Play Classic Chess Install Now Undo The bench sought the AP government's response to his petition seeking the quashing of the FIR against him. However, it cautioned Rao not to involve himself in any defamatory statement or allow any panelist to make such a statement in live TV shows.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
‘But he is not saying this': SC grants bail to Andhra journalist Srinivas Rao arrested over panellist's remarks on TV show
Underlining the need to protect journalistic freedom, the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to senior journalist K Srinivas Rao, also known as KSR, who was arrested over allegedly offensive remarks made by a panellist on a show anchored by him on a Telugu news channel, and wondered how an anchor could be arrested for comments made by a panellist. Justice Manmohan, who was part of a two-judge bench, asked the state government, 'Someone else is making the statement. How can this be?' The bench, presided by Justice P K Mishra, directed that he be released on bail, subject to conditions as may be imposed by the trial court. 'Considering that the petitioner himself has not made any such statement and his journalistic participation in a live TV show deserves to be protected so that the freedom of speech is also protected in the process, we direct that the petitioner shall be released in relation to the FIR, subject to the conditions to be imposed by the trial court,' it ordered. The court, however, 'made (it) clear that the petitioner shall not involve himself in any defamatory statement either by himself or by allowing others to make such statements in his presence in the show which the petitioner is anchoring or hosting.' On June 9, the Andhra Pradesh Police arrested Rao from Hyderabad over the alleged comments made on June 6 by a panellist who had appeared on a show on Sakshi TV and referred to the state capital Amaravati as the 'capital of sex workers'. The remarks, made apparently on the basis of a study by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), which said that Andhra Pradesh has the second highest concentration of female sex workers in the country, led to a political row between the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led alliance and the Opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy's wife Y S Bharathi Reddy heads the Sakshi Media Group. Following complaints, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered under various provisions including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. On Friday, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Rao, pointed out that the alleged objectionable remarks which formed the basis of the FIR were not made by him but by a panellist. To the court's query as to how the anchor could be arrested for comments by a panellist, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the state, said Rao 'was goading and abetting the man who was making that statement. He was laughing.' Justice Manmohan, however, said, 'When someone makes an outrageous statement, we laugh it off. They can't be termed co-conspirators.' Justice Mishra stated, 'Everyday this is happening!' Defending the arrest, Rohatgi said, 'This is not a case of somebody being a standby. He is not a bystander. He is a part of the same channel.' The court did not seem to agree. 'But he is not saying this,' said Justice Mishra. 'He is goading the fellow. You can't go around saying things like it is a capital of sex workers,' said Rohatgi. Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, who also appeared for the state, submitted that the statement was more than defamatory. The bench, however, went on to grant relief to Rao.
