The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is hearing the disproportionate assets case against Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Friday ordered the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister to appear in court in person on January 10. The court was hearing Jagan’s plea seeking permanent exemption from making an appearance in court. This is the first time that the CBI court has rejected Jagan’s plea for an exemption after he became the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister in May 2019.
CBI special court judge Madhusudhan Rao on Friday asked Jagan to appear in person when the disproportionate case is being heard next week. YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP V Vijaya Sa Reddy has also been asked to appear before the court, reports state.
The counsel for Jagan had stated that the YSRCP President could not personally attend the hearings in the case, as he had to discharge his constitutional duties as Chief Minister.
Jagan had filed a petition in September 2019 seeking an exemption from the weekly hearings being held in the case. The YSRCP chief has not appeared in court since he became Chief Minister in May 2019.
In October, the court dismissed his petition seeking a permanent exemption from appearing before the court and instead ruled that he can apply for an exemption on a week-by-week basis.
In November, Jagan’s counsel said they will be filing another plea, and this time, the CBI court denied him an exemption.
The CBI had earlier opposed the Chief Minister's plea for an exemption saying that there was a change only in the personal capacity of the petitioner and not in the circumstances of the case. The agency also argued that he could influence witnesses in the case. Jagan had argued that his trip to Hyderabad to attend the hearing hindered his work as a Chief Minister and had cost the exchequer Rs 60 lakh.
Jagan is accused of getting investments into his businesses by firms and individuals, in return for alleged undue favours shown to them by the former Andhra Pradesh government, headed by his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy between 2004 and 2009.
The CBI arrested Jagan and sent him to jail on May 27, 2012. After 16 months in jail, he was granted bail. However, the YSRCP has denied the charges and maintained that the cases were slapped on him as ‘political vendetta.’
The other accused in the case include former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President and Indian Cements Managing Director N Srinivasan.