Telangana HC judge Keshava Rao passes away

He was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor at a private hospital.

Registrar General of the Telangana High Court on Monday informed that the work will remain suspended in the courts across the state on Monday.

The funeral will be held at Mahaprasthanam Jubilee hills at 3.00 pm on Monday. The demise of the judge was announced at 3.47 a.m. Mortal remains of Justice Rao would be kept at his residence in Madhuban Enclave on street no. 4, Habsiguda, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m..

Born on March 29, 1961, to Potlapalli Prakash Rao, a government employee and Potlapalli Jayaprada, he was married to P. Usha who is working as Finance Manager in Software Company.

Justice Keshava Rao did his graduation in Sciences from Kakatiya Degree College, Warangal. He secured Law Degree from Kakatiya University in 1986 and enrolled as a Member of the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in April 1986.

Originally, he was attached to the office of late Pingle Sambasiva Rao in Warangal District Headquarters Courts. Later, in 1991, he shifted to Hyderabad and joined the Office of late M.V. Ramana Reddy.

In 1996, he practiced in various branches of law which include Constitutional, Civil, Criminal, and Election matters. He represented the Unified State of Andhra Pradesh as a Government Pleader. He was attached to the Office of D. Prakash Reddy, the then Additional Advocate General from October, 1998 to October 2001.

In March 2010, he was appointed as Special Standing Counsel for CBI (Special Public Prosecutor). He continued till April 2016. He was appearing for CBI against the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy

In March 2015, he was appointed as Standing Counsel for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and continued till his elevation. He served as Standing Counsel for Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority from October 2015 onwards.

He was elevated as a Judge of the High Court of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. He assumed on September 21, 2017.

"He was a doyen of the criminal justice system. It was actually a pleasure appearing before him in court during the lockdown. He was a very cordial and inspiring judge," said Karam Komireddy, a practicing lawyer at High Court of Telangana.