Disproportionate assets case: Jagan Mohan Reddy restricted to jail as CBI probe still incomplete

HYDERABAD: What the camp of YSR Congress Party president and jailed Parliamentarian YS Jagan Mohan Reddy believed was a boon while arguing his case for bail in October last year has now turned out to be a bane.

When the CBI lawyer said the agency would try to complete the probe into Jagan’s wealth by December 2012 or so, the Supreme Court had felt the timeframe may not be sufficient and fixed March 2013 as deadline. Had the court gone ahead and stipulated March 2013 as the deadline in its order in October 2012, it would have now entitled Jagan Mohan for bail because the investigating agency is yet to complete its probe.

“Unfortunately, our lawyers in October 2012 thought that deadline of March 2013 would mean another six months of jail for Jagan. Accordingly, they requested the judge not to mention the March deadline in his written orders, suspecting that CBI may prolong its probe till then,” said a person close to Jagan’s family.

Accordingly, Jagan’s counsel sought and obtained orders from the Supreme Court directing CBI to complete its probe at the earliest. “With no deadline stipulated by the Supreme Court in its orders, the CBI is now taking advantage and further delaying the probe process to keep Jagan confined to the jail for few more months,” said the same person.