CBI court posts orders on Jagan's bail plea to Friday

Hyderabad: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court posted to Friday orders on the bail petition of Member of Parliament YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who is in jail in a disproportionate assets case. The CBI court Thursday reserved the orders after hearing the arguments of the lawyers of Jagan and the probe agency. Jagan’s counsel Ranjit Kumar argued for his conditional interim bail so that he could campaign for his party in the 12 June by-elections. [caption id=“attachment_327793” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“PTI”]  [/caption] He told the court that Jagan was arrested when he was in the midst of the campaign. He said if Jagan was granted interim bail, he would appear in the court after the campaigning came to an end on 10 June. Jagan was also ready for daily appearance in the police station of the constituency he was visiting, he said. The counsel also argued that the CBI had never questioned or arrested Jagan while the case was registered in August last year. He alleged that it was a political conspiracy to keep him away from campaigning for the by-elections to one Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats. The CBI, however, opposed the bail petition on the grounds that Jagan was the number one accused in the state and, if released on bail, he could tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses. The agency also submitted to the court that Jagan was not contesting the by-election and hence his presence was not required for the campaigning. The CBI counsel also told the court that Jagan committed the economic offence in a planned way and hence was not entitled to claim freedom. The court also adjourned to 4 June hearing on the bail petition of former minister Mopidevi Venkataramna. The CBI sought time to file counter to Venkataramna’s bail petition. Jagan, Venkataramna, industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad and bureaucrat KV Brahmananda Reddy are all lodged in Chanchalguda Central Jail. CBI arrested Jagan on 27 May after questioning him for three days. The court next day sent him to judicial custody till 11 June. Jagan is accused of conspiring with his father and then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy to dole out favours to certain companies in the form of land, licences and other concessions in return for the investments they made into his businesses on quid pro quo basis. PTI