HC vetoes CBI court order, exempts Jagan from personal appearance

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Friday gave a huge relief to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy by allowing his plea for exemption from personal appearance before the CBI court on every trial day it deals with the disproportionate assets case.

Reddy must only appear before the trial court on the day of hearing that the CBI court feels his presence is required, the High Court said.

Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was pronouncing the judgment in the petitions filed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, in which he challenged the CBI court orders mandating his physical presence.
Refuting the stand taken by the CBI court, Chief Justice Bhuyan observed, “This court is afraid it is not open to the trial court to rely upon such observations at the very threshold. These are allegations against the petitioner (Jagan Mohan Reddy). At this stage, it cannot be said that the petitioner had committed the offence(s)”.

The Chief Justice said that the trial court had erred in stating that being away from Andhra Pradesh for two days was not a ground to invoke the discretion of  the court.

Jagan Mohan Reddy had stated that in view of his election as Chief Minister, he was required to work round the clock. Attending court on each date of hearing would adversely affect the administration. Besides, as Chief Minister, there was a mandatory security protocol to be followed which would disrupt or affect the appearance of other litigants and lawyers in the court on the day.

Besides, the Chief Minister contended, it would entail significant financial burden on the state exchequer. However, the CBI Court had rejected the exemption stating that the cases he was name in were grave  offences and affected the economy of the country.