The principal court for CBI cases on Thursday explored
possibilities to let arrested Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy resume his
election campaign on interim bail up to June 10, the last day, but the
proposal was firmly rejected by CBI saying it was not permitted under
law. The court will pronounce its verdict on Friday.
On
a request by senior Supreme Court lawyer Ranjit Kumar, who appeared for
Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, that the MP be given some relief to campaign on
terms of the court, the judge A. Pullaiah enquired whether Mr.
Jaganmohan Reddy could be directed to return to the State capital
everyday after completing his canvassing.
Mr. Ranjit
Kumar replied that it was a difficult proposition because Mr. Jaganmohan
Reddy would be campaigning 300 to 500 km away. Instead, he proposed
that the MP may be asked to mark his attendance in the local police
station wherever he camped overnight.
The judge also
enquired whether the MP could be allowed video linkage with masses from
jail but this was also not acceptable to the defence as the element of
personal contact would be missing.
MLA case cited
CBI
counsel Ashok Bhan stoutly opposed any arrangement to permit Mr.
Jaganmohan Reddy to access masses saying the latter was not a contesting
candidate. Moreover, Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy had made an alternative
arrangement to ensure that the campaign was not disrupted, he added.
Mr.
Ranjit Kumar referred to the “police station” attendance permitted by
the Supreme Court to Sushanta Ghosh, CPI (M) MLA of West Medinipur in
West Bengal, while granting him bail in a multiple murder case. He
denied the contention of the CBI that Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy would use his
status as an MP to tamper evidence if granted bail.
Cases against 412 MPs
He
furnished statistics to the court which said that 412 MPs faced
criminal cases in the country, including 115 for criminal charges and 73
for serious criminal charges. “All of them had a status. How will
Parliament function if they were all to be put in jail?” he said.
Mr.
Bhan argued that Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy was not entitled to any
concession as a politician because he subverted Constitution by taking
away lands of poor people and giving them for a song to corporates which
invested in his companies.
He cited the example of
ex-RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav who was not allowed any
concession by court to take oath on election as an MP after he was
arrested in a murder case.
from hindu
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