HYDERABAD: In a major relief to AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana High Court Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday exempted him from personal appearance in cases still active on the CBI court’s file. The Chief Justice held that the petitioner must be represented by a vakalat-holding attorney, who has been lawfully authorised.
However, in accordance with subsection (2) of Section 205 of the CrPC, the petitioner must appear on the date of the hearing if the CBI court decides that his presence is required. Senior counsel for the petitioner S Niranjan Reddy stated that a writ petition was filed before the High Court of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh in the form of a PIL in 2011 seeking an investigation by CBI into alleged deeds of corruption committed by the petitioner and others leading to a sudden increase in wealth.
The HC directed the CBI to probe the matter. Later, the CBI registered a case against the petitioner and others. In the course of the probe, the petitioner was arrested. The CBI filed altogether 11 charge sheets, mentioning the petitioner as accused No.1. These proceedings are pending before the court of the Principal Special Judge for CBI Cases, Hyderabad.
According to Niranjan Reddy, the lower court had failed to consider Section 205 of the CrPC in the right context. He claimed that a petition under Section 205 of the CrPC can be submitted at any point in the case and several times. He claimed that the lower court ignored the new circumstances. When the previous orders were issued, the petitioner was not in the position of Chief Minister.
Given the petitioner’s responsibilities and the nature of the services he performs, it is not appropriate to require his personal attendance at each and every date of the case hearing, he stated. The counsel also contended that the reasons offered by the Principal Special Judge in rejecting the petitioner’s petition under Section 205 of the CrPC were legally untenable. When other accused persons have been given exemption from personal appearance, it is difficult to understand why the lower court insists on the petitioner’s personal appearance on each and every day of the case hearing.
The Special Public Prosecutor for CBI submitted that filing petitions under Section 205 of the CrPC one after the other are part of a well-thought-out strategy to delay the proceedings. For the last 10 years, the case is only at the stage of framing charges. Prayer for exemption from personal appearance can be made and considered when the trial actually commences, he stated.
The HC maintained that the Special Judge failed to appreciate the fact that the principle that a trial has to be conducted in the presence of the accused is to ensure that the accused gets a fair trial; nothing is done behind the back of the accused. Provision seeking exemption from personal appearance is intended for the benefit of the accused, the court observed.