Hyderabad, July 4 (IANS) The Andhra Pradesh High Court Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of YSR Congress Party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and the trial court extended his judicial custody till July 18 in a case of amassing illegal wealth.
In another development in the case, the trial court reserved its order till July 16 on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) petition seeking permission to conduct narco-analysis test on Jaganmohan Reddy and his aide Vijay Sai Reddy.
The high court, which June 28 reserved its order on Jaganmohan’s bail plea, gave its ruling a few hours before the CBI trial court extended his judicial remand.
Justice Samudrala Govindarajulu of the high court agreed with the view of the CBI that if released on bail, Jagan, as he is popularly known, may influence witnesses in the case.
He observed that since the investigations into the case were still on, Jagan couldn’t be released on bail.
Jagan, the son of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was arrested by the CBI May 27.
The CBI had opposed his bail petition on the ground that he may tamper with the evidences and influence the witnesses.
CBI counsel Ashok Bhan argued that the case involved looting of public money. He said the favours doled out by Jagan’s father and then chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy to companies which invested in Jagan’s businesses cost the state exchequer Rs.43,000 crore.
Appearing for Jagan, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani argued strongly for the bail while describing the case against his client as politically motivated.
Jethmalani alleged that Jagan’s arrest was illegal and the CBI action amounted to contempt of court as he was scheduled to appear in the trial court the next day in response to the court summons.
The investigating agency has so far filed four charge sheets against Jagan and others in the case, which was registered last year on the direction of the high court.
Meanwhile, the CBI court extended the judicial custody of Jagan and Indian Administrative Service officer B.P. Acharya till July 18.
The court conducted the hearing through a video linkage from Chanchalguda Central Jail, where the two are lodged.
