Plans afoot to seize properties of Jagan

By S A Ishaqui


Hyderabad, April 29 : The Andhra Pradesh state government is contemplating a proposal to attach the properties of YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy under the provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944.

According to highly-placed sources, the state government, after discussing with the Central Bureau of Investigation, has decided to accord sanction to the agency to move an application before the concerned court for attachment of Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s properties, particularly holdings by his Jagathi Group of Publications.

The Ordinance enables the state to attach the money or other property of any person which the state or the Centre believes was procured by committing an offence. Even before the court takes cognisance of the offence, the Ordinance empowers the state to attach the property of a person if it has reason to believe that the person has committed a scheduled offence, a legal expert clarified. The CBI’s chargesheets filed before the special CBI Court, charge Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy with amassing wealth by using the good offices of his father’s (YSR’s) government to get investments in his companies.

Jagathi: CBI to act before bypolls

An official associated with the move to attach the properties of Jagathi Publications, confirmed on condition of anonymity, that the CBI is preparing documents for the government to sanction, which will permit attachment of the properties till the completion of the trial. The plan is to complete the attachment process before the Election Commission issues the notification for by-elections in 18 Assembly and one Lok Sabha constituency, the official added. It may be recalled that in its ongoing investigation, the CBI has charged that Rs 1,246 crore was invested by various companies in Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s companies as a quid pro quo for benefits they were given by the state government either by way of land or getting concessions, when YSR was the Chief Minister.
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DGP Dinesh, CID chief Ramana face HC contempt notice

By S A Ishaqui


Hyderabad, April 12: The AP High Court on Wednesday directed the Registrar of the High Court to initiate suo motu criminal contempt proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act against the director general of police, Mr V. Dinesh Reddy, and the additional director general of police, CID, Mr. S.V. Ramana Murthy, for suppression of facts and for filing false affidavit.

While disposing of a plea by the Godavari Valley Development Authority Umesh Kumar against the DGP, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan held that “if either the petitioner or the respondents suppress material facts or state material facts in a distorted manner in order to mislead the court, the court is duty bound to protect itself and prevent abuse of its process”.

Mr. Dinesh Kumar had alleged that a case against him for his alleged involvement in forging a letter in the name of Congress MP M.A. Khan, to spoil the prospects of Mr. Dinesh Reddy to become the DGP, was registered and pursued at the behest of the DGP. When the Judge sought a counter-affidavit on this, the DGP and head of the CID had filed affidavits contrary to the record.

The CID chief had not disclosed in his affidavit about a memo issued by the DGP to register a case against Mr Dinesh Kumar. The chief secretary had forwarded a letter from the ministry of home affairs regarding the alleged forged letter to the CID chief and had asked him to inquire into it. The CID chief, however, had forwarded the report to the DGP on August 22, 2011. These facts were not disclosed by the DGP in his affidavit. After pursuing the records, the Judge found a memo issued by the DGP on August 24, 2011, wherein he had directed the CID chief to register a case pertaining to the forged letter episode. He also found that the DGP had forwarded the report of the CID chief to the chief secretary on August 27, three days after registering the case.

The Judge held that the false affidavit filed by Mr. Ramana Murthy, and suppression of material facts by Mr. Dinesh Reddy and Mr. Murthy, constituted criminal contempt of court.
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