VIJAYAWADA: YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), accusing his sister and AP Congress president YS Sharmila of illegally transferring shares of Saraswati Power and Industries — held by him and his wife Bharathi Reddy — on her and their mother Vijayamma’s name.
The petition, filed last month in the Hyderabad Bench of the NCLT, sought rectification in the company’s register of members. Jagan and Bharathi alleged that multiple share transfers were conducted in July 2024 without proper legal procedures, such as utilising transfer forms and original certificates. They requested the NCLT to annul the transfer of shares. The matter was taken up and posted to November for further hearing.
In the petition, Jagan said he entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2019 with Sharmila “out of love and affection,” to allocate a portion of his self-acquired assets, including shares in Saraswati Power Company, to her. However, since these assets were attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) due to ongoing legal cases, the MoU explicitly stated that the transfer would only happen once the legal issues were resolved.
‘No love left between the two siblings’
Alleging that Sharmila, without gratitude and regard to the well-being of her brother, conducted a series of actions that deeply hurt him, the petition read, “It is humbly submitted that to the utter shock and surprise of the petitioners, respondent No. 1 (Saraswati Power and Industries) company wide board resolution has transferred the entire shareholding of petitioners No. 1 and 2 (Jagan and his wife, respectively) in favour of respondent No. 2 (Sharmila) and the entire shareholding of petitioner number three (Classic Realty, owned by the family), herein in favour of respondent No. 3 (Vijayamma).”
“The actions of Respondent No. 2 (Sharmila) herein have strained the relationship between the siblings and have further resulted in melting down of all the love and affection the brother had for his sister,” his petition said. Jagan added due to the actions by his sister, there is “no love left between the two siblings”, and he decided not to proceed with his expression of intent to transfer the shares/properties as envisaged under the MoU and gift deed.
In a letter to his sister, Jagan had informed her about the potential adverse implications of transferring the shares without fulfilling the legal obligations and clearance from court. Expressing his desire to revoke the MoU, he said, “It is no secret that we are no longer on the best of terms, and in view of this changed situation, I wanted to formally intimate you and put you on notice that I have no further intent to act upon my original intent as expressed in the MoU.”
Jagan pointed out that the properties, acquired by their father and former chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, and the ancestral ones were divided among the family members. He intended to transfer the shares (Jagan’s own property) in addition to Rs 200 crore he, directly or through their mother, gave to his sister during the past decade.
It may be pointed out that Sharmila had launched her political party in Telangana and merged it with the Congress ahead of the Assembly elections in the neighbouring State. Subsequently, she was appointed as the president of the Congress Andhra Pradesh unit. She unsuccessfully contested from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency in general elections.
According to sources, Jagan objected to the share transfer and took steps to safeguard himself from further legal complications following his lawyers’ advice. Jagan’s legal team had reportedly cautioned him about the illegal transfer of shares, stating that it could cause significant legal issues, especially with political opponents potentially using the situation to seek a revocation of his bail. The lawyers warned that his association with the disputed transfer could harm his legal standing in ongoing cases.
With inputs from PTI