DA Case: Jagan Challenges CBI, ED Decisions in HC

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has moved the Telangana High Court, challenging the decisions of the special courts of CBI and ED that junked his pleas seeking exemptions from personal appearance for ongoing trials.

Reddy has been pleading the special courts of CBI and ED to exempt him from personal appearance as it involved huge expenditure to visit Hyderabad every Friday, given high security and protocols, adding a burden on his “financially poor” state. He had also sought the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court’s approval to allow the other co-accused to appear before it on his behalf.

In his fresh petition, Reddy reiterated the plea saying that he was unable to personally appear before the courts every Friday as he was holding the constitutional responsibility of discharging duties as the chief minister. The CBI had in 2012 filed charges against Reddy, accusing him of amassing more than Rs 1 lakh crore of wealth by misusing the office of his late father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who was then the CM of undivided AP.