SC notice on plea seeking transfer of disproportionate assets case trial against Jagan out of Andhra

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the CBI and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on a plea seeking the transfer of the trial in the disproportionate assets case against him outside Hyderabad, preferably to Delhi.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S V N Bhatti also asked the CBI to explain why the trial was getting delayed.

The apex court issued notice on the plea filed by YSR Congress MP Raghu Ramkrishna Raju, against Reddy, the president of the party.

The petitioner claimed that his conscience is shaken by the manner in which state machinery is being manipulated to suit the sitting Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after having illegally and unjustly enriched himself (and various companies floated by him) to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore (and necessarily, having caused loss to that extent to the public exchequer).

His plea alleged that the CM has ensured that the criminal trials against him remain dormant and no fruitful steps are taken against him.

“Shockingly, the State Machinery (represented by the CBI) have been more than happy to be silent spectators to this abuse of the processes of the Courts (turning the criminal trials into 'friendly matches' between accused and prosecution),” the plea said.

The plea claimed that since May 14, 2014, when late Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was sworn in as CM of Andhra Pradesh, he along with his son Jagan Mohan had adopted an ingenious modus operandi to amass illegal wealth by abusing public office, causing losses to the public exchequer.

“The modus operandi adopted by the father-son duo was to dole out public largesse in the form of properties, SEZs/projects allotment, grant of mining/ port licences and other such benefits to persons of their choice (in violation of established norms and procedures of governance) at the cost of the taxpayers' money, with a clear understanding of quid pro quo- in the form of bribes given to the Respondent No. 2 (Jagan Mohan) under the guise of purchasing shares in different companies of the Respondent No.2 at a high premium,” the plea said.

The plea, filed through advocate Balaji Srinivasan, contended that subsequent to filing of chargesheets, Jagan Mohan has "cleverly sought to distance himself from the key management posts of the companies concerned".

However, he continued to exert control and management of the said companies through a complex web of corporate veils, it alleged.

The plea stressed that in the present case, the trial has been dragging along for over 10 years and even charges have not been framed, which caused a reasonable apprehension of bias by the prosecution and judicial proceedings.

“Shockingly, even the CBI and Enforcement Directorate appear to be silent (and perhaps even complacent) in this misuse of judicial process and show no real interest in proceedings of the criminal trials," the plea said.