Telangana Governor gives nod for prosecution of KTR in Formula-E Case

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, has granted approval to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to prosecute former minister K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) in the Formula-E car race case — which involves alleged misappropriation of ₹54.88 crore in public funds. However, the police officials are yet to officially announce this.

It was learnt that the approval was granted two-days ago. With the sanction granted, the bureau is now expected to file the chargesheet shortly.

The prosecution report was submitted to the State government by the ACB on September 9, naming KTR as the prime accused. This followed months of investigation, including extensive questioning of all three accused officials from January to July 2025. KTR appeared before the ACB twice.

The case originates from a complaint filed on October 18, 2024 by M. Dana Kishore, Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department. He alleged a loss of ₹54.88 crore to the State exchequer, claiming that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) released payments to Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) without the necessary Cabinet or Finance department approvals. The complaint was filed after the Congress came to power.

Following this, on December 19, 2024, the ACB booked a case against K.T. Rama Rao, former special chief secretary to MA&UD Arvind Kumar, and former HMDA Chief Engineer B. L. N. Reddy.

As per the FIR, ₹45.7 crore was transferred to FEO between September and October 2023, even after the company had terminated its agreement with the Telangana government. Investigators stated that this transfer also resulted in an additional tax burden of ₹8.06 crore, borne by the HMDA.

The ACB further noted that the tripartite agreement signed in October 2022 between the Telangana government, FEO, and event sponsor Ace Nxt Gen Pvt. Ltd., had capped the government’s financial liability. But disputes between FEO and Ace Nxt Gen allegedly led the State to assume financial responsibility without regulatory approval, ultimately causing significant financial losses.