By S A Ishaqui
Hyderabad,Jan 23: The CBI on Tuesday accused the state government of not cooperating with the investigation into the illegal investments case of YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Senior counsel of Supreme Court Ashok Bhan, appearing for the CBI before Justice B. Seshasayana Reddy of the AP High Court, said, “We will not hesitate to say that the state government is not supporting the probe.”
He said that in one month the state government had been reminded 15 times for information, but there had been lukewarm response.
Bhan also said that the CBI had never given a time frame to the Supreme Court regarding completing investigation into the case. He added that economic offences were never committed in a fit of rage; there was always a deep-rooted plan and conspiracy behind every economic offence and to probe the same a lot of time would be needed. It was thus premature for the petitioner to apply for bail when the probe was still pending.
CBI delaying probe: Jagan’s lawyer
Referring to allegations that the CBI was biased, Senior counsel of Supreme Court Ashok Bhan, appearing for the CBI, said, “If we are biased we could have been asked for the arrest of the petitioner in each of the cases registered against him.”
S. Niranjan Reddy, counsel for the Kadapa MP, meanwhile, argued that the CBI intended to further delay the probe by showing the “government’s non-cooperation” as a pretext. He said that the CBI had been giving misinterpretations of the apex court’s October 2012 order in Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s case.
He said that the Supreme Court had stated that the CBI would file the final charge sheet in the case as early as possible but not beyond 90 days and pointed out that the CBI had even given an undertaking that it would file the charge sheet in three months, but had failed to do so.
“How long would his client be kept in custody when the maximum punishment for the charges framed against him was seven years,” Mr Reddy asked.
The judge said that he would pronounce orders on Thursday on the maintainability of the plea.
