The Supreme Court on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, extended interim protection to three accused in the ₹3,500 crore Andhra Pradesh liquor scam. The High Court had asked them to surrender and cancelled their default bail. A Bench with Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi refused to interfere with the High Court order. The Supreme Court asked the accused to approach the trial court for regular bail. On November 19, the Andhra Pradesh High Court cancelled the default bail and ordered the accused to surrender by November 26. The accused are Balaji Govindappa, Pellakuru Krishna Mohan Reddy, and K. Dhanunjaya Reddy. The Supreme Court had earlier protected them from surrender until further orders. Dhanunjaya Reddy is a retired IAS officer who served as a secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office. Krishna Mohan Reddy was the Officer on Special Duty to then Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Balaji Govindappa was a director of Bharati Cements. Senior advocates C.A. Sundaram, Siddharth Dave, and Mukul Rohatgi represented the petitioners, while senior advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared for the Andhra Pradesh Government. The prosecution alleges a political and business nexus in the case. They claim there was manipulation in liquor procurement from 2019 to 2024, under the previous YSRCP government. The scheme included suppressing popular brands, favouring new labels, and receiving kickbacks.