Illegal assets case: Did not threaten or influence any witnesses, Jagan tells CBI court

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday told a special court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Hyderabad that he had not threatened or influenced any witness directly or indirectly in an alleged disproportionate assets case being probed against him

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday told a special court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Hyderabad that he had not threatened or influenced any witness directly or indirectly in an alleged disproportionate assets case being probed against him.

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Jagan’s remarks were in response to a petition filed by rebel YSR Congress Party MP K Raghurama Krishnam Raju on April 29, seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Reddy in 2013.

In a 98-page counter affidavit filed in the CBI court, the chief minister asserted that he had never violated the conditions imposed by the court nor did he, in any manner, threaten or influence any witness directly or indirectly. All the allegations made by the petitioner are baseless and do not warrant any consideration by the court, he added.

Jagan said the petition seeking his bail cancellation was purportedly filed by Raju in the capacity of a third party. “It was misconceived in law and not maintainable, as Raju was trying to bring in personal political issues and personal vendetta into the criminal justice administration,” he said.

The YSR Congress Party chief pointed out that the CBI, a central government agency, was investigating the case and Raju, being a third party, had no locus standi in seeking cancellation of his bail. Raju did not show any overwhelming circumstances to review the procedure of granting bail, he argued.

“The Supreme Court has stated in several cases that any criminal process is between the state and the accused and no third party can intervene in such a process,” he said.

Jagan alleged that Raju had filed a false affidavit before the court, stating that the rebel MP had no questionable antecedents whatsoever in nature.

Raju is an accused in two crimes registered by the CBI in relation to fraudulent dealings with banks and siphoning of over ₹900 crore. Both the cases are under investigation.

Jagan pointed out that his party had already made an appeal to the Lok Sabha Speaker, seeking disqualification of Raju from the Lower House for various misdeeds and acts of misconduct.

“Raju’s petition clearly shows he is seeking to use criminal justice machinery for personal abusive purposes,” he said, and requested the court to dismiss the petition in the interest of justice.

Responding to Jagan’s remarks, Raju told reporters in Delhi that the counter affidavit filed by Jagan in the CBI court lacked substance. “The allegations levelled by him against me are all baseless. I am confident that the court will go by the merit of the arguments,” he said.

Meanwhile, the CBI also filed a separate counter affidavit, saying that it was leaving it to the court to decide on whether to continue or revoke the bail granted to Jagan.

The court posted the next hearing for June 14.

The YSR Congress Party chief, who has been facing the CBI case since 2011, had been in jail for 16 months between May 2012 to September 2013 before coming out on bail in 2013.

The CBI has accused Jagan of getting investments running into several crores from various individuals and firms into his businesses as “quid pro quo” for favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as chief minister between 2004 and 2009.

The CBI had filed a total of 11 chargesheet against Jagan and 12 others accused in the disproportionate assets and quid pro quo cases.