Noose tightens around Jaganmohan Reddy

                                                                               

On a day when there was a flurry of activity in the courts, the legal problems of YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy compounded on Tuesday when the CBI court asked him to appear before it on June 11, the day on which his current judicial remand is set to end.

After taking cognizance of the second charge-sheet filed by the CBI against Jagan and others in the disproportionate assets case, the Principal Special Court for CBI Cases directed prison authorities to produce Jagan before it on a prisoner transit (PT) warrant on June 11.

Vijay Sai summoned

Also, it summoned his auditor V. Vijay Sai Reddy and a representative of Jagathi Publications to appear in court on the same day.

The CBI had filed the second charge-sheet on April 23 naming Jagan, V. Vijay Sai Reddy and Jagathi Publications as the three accused in that order.

Taking the charge-sheet into cognizance on Tuesday, the court gave separate number for the case (CC 9/2012).

Cognizance of the charge-sheet paves way for the next procedure of questioning of the accused by the court and framing of charges to facilitate commencement of trial. The court has already directed the accused in the first charge-sheet to appear before it on June 11.

Meanwhile, the investigating officer of the case and CBI SP, H. Venkatesh, re-submitted the third charge-sheet in the case to the court on Tuesday after carrying out corrections.

The court had returned the charge-sheet to CBI earlier this month citing some procedural shortcomings and other details.

The court has also written to the Ministry of Home Affairs informing it about the arrest and judicial remand of Jagan. The YSR Congress president filed a petition in the High Court challenging his arrest and custody while, separately, he urged the special court, through another petition, to grant him bail as he was spearheading the campaign for his candidates contesting by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies and Nellore Lok Sabha seat.

Allegations

Jagan submitted to the court that the allegations levelled against him in the first charge-sheet, based on which he was arrested, were false and incorrect.

The grounds for his arrest that he would misuse his status as MP to influence witnesses and tamper with the evidence were also wrong. Admitting the petition, the court directed the CBI to file its counter and posted the case for hearing on May 31.

 from Hindi