SC rejects Jagan's plea

A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma dismissed the petitions filed by Kadappa MP and son of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy challenging the High Court’s order directing CBI inquiry into his assets.

“There is no need to interfere with the order of the High Court,” the Court said. Senior advocates Ram Jethmalani and Mukul Rohtagi contended Jagan was being victimized as he did not belong to the ruling party. They sought a copy of the CBI’s preliminary inquiry report which, according to them, prompted the HC to order registration of FIR against Jagan.
The high court had on August 10, 2011, directed the CBI to register a case and investigate the assets of Jagan and his companies. The court had  acted on a public interest litigation filed by state Handlooms and Textile Minister P Shankar Rao, alleging that Jagan's assets had risen from Rs 11 lakh in 2004 to Rs 43,000 crore by the time of his father’s death in 2009 in a helicopter crash.

Jethmalani contended that the PIL was a doctrine of civil law and had got no place in criminal matters.

Senior advocate A K Ganguly, appearing for Rao and others, submitted that the high court did not provide the copy of the CBI’s preliminary report as some of the parties contended that making it public would damage their image. He also claimed that the court had opened the report and re-sealed it.

Following a 2-hour long argument, the apex Court rejected the petitions of Jagan, who along with his mother, had formed a new party- YSR Congress.