HYDERABAD: The CBI on Tuesday made it clear that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has to appear in the Special CBI Court during the hearings in the alleged illegal assets case. Seeking exemption from personal appearance on the ground that he is the state Chief Minister is not correct and is in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. In fact, several chief ministers and ex-chief ministers have appeared before the court in their respective cases, the CBI said.
The CBI filed a counter-affidavit before the special court dealing with a petition filed by Jagan, accused in the illegal assets case, seeking exemption from personal appearance before the court and to allow his lawyer to appear on his behalf during the hearings of the case.
Strongly opposing the grant of exemption to Jagan, the CBI told the court that there was a scope that the case witnesses would face fear psychosis if the accused was granted exemption since the latter was in a powerful post. Besides, exemption to the accused involved in serious economic offences would send wrong signals to the society. The CBI court posted the case to Oct 18 for hearing.
OMC mining company case
Elsewhere, mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, and OMC managing director BV Srinivasa Reddy told the Special CBI court that they have no objection to transfer the illegal mining case from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam. However, other accused in the case who included minister P Sabita Indra Reddy, senior IAS officer Y Srilakshmi and former IAS officer Krupanandam said that they have an objection in transferring the case. The Court posted the matter to October 10 for hearing.