The Supreme Court of India delivered its final verdict today in the high-profile 2002 death case of Telugu actress Pratyusha, bringing an end to more than two decades of legal proceedings. The court upheld the judgment against Gudipalli Siddhartha Reddy, Pratyusha’s boyfriend, who received a suicide abetment sentence that required him to report to authorities within a four-week period.
The bench, which included Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Manmohan, denied Siddhartha Reddy’s appeal while upholding his two-year prison term, which he received under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. The court proved through evidence that Reddy had helped Pratyusha commit suicide.
Pratyusha’s mother, Sarojini Devi, filed a petition, but the bench denied it. The court displayed multiple medical and forensic reports, which demonstrated that poisoning caused death, while they discovered no proof of physical attack or suffocation.
The case dates back to February 23, 2002, when Pratyusha and Siddhartha Reddy allegedly entered a suicide pact by consuming a pesticide-laced soft drink, reportedly due to family opposition to their relationship. Pratyusha died the next day during treatment, while Reddy survived.
Reddy received a five-year prison sentence from a trial court in 2004. The Telangana/Andhra Pradesh High Court later reduced his sentence to two years in 2011. The Supreme Court dismissed Reddy’s final appeal today, which required him to report back to custody within one month after his release on bail.
