VIJAYAWADA: YSRCP MPs continued their protest on Parliament premises for the second day on Friday demanding CBI probe into the Amaravati land scam and AP Fiber Grid scam. Speaking on the occasion, YSRCP general secretary and MP V Vijayasai Reddy said the High Court stay on the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) by the government and issuing a gag order to the media is not in the true spirit of Constitution and democracy. Citing the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 19, Sub section 3- Clause C, Vijayasai argued that the stay cannot be justified unless there are special and extraordinary circumstances, which are not there in the case.
A CBI probe should have been ordered by the court instead of staying the investigation by the SIT, he observed. On the media gag, he described it as unconstitutional as it stifles the right to freedom of speech and expression of the media and thereby contravening Article 14. “Injunctions against publication can either be an order to prevent possible defamation or invasion of privacy, or one aimed at protecting the fairness of a trial or one aimed at protecting the fairness of a trial or investigation. The Supreme Court held in the Sahara vs SEBI (2012) case that the court can grant preventive relief on a balancing of the right to free trial and a free press, he explained.
However, it favoured such temporary restraint on publication ‘only in cases of real and substantial risk of prejudice’ to the administration of justice or a fair trial, the MP pointed out and said in the instant case, there was no real and substantial risk of prejudice. The YSRC leader also said the judgment is a per incuriam judgement which means that it is characterised by lack of due regard to the law or the facts. He opined that it sets a bad precedent in the country. “If there is a SIT probe by any state government against any scam, the prime accused can seek a stay not only on the proceedings but also on the reporting of the details of the case,” he said. Vijaysai recalled that the YSRCP came to power on three planks — Special Category Status and justice to the people with respect to the implementation of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014; welfare of common people and unearthing large scams. Bound by the 3rd plank, the police, after a thorough investigation into the land scam in Amaravati, found irregularities and filed an FIR. “Police were given full independence to bring the scam to light and put the wrongdoers in jail,” he said.