Relief for Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as court refuses to cancel bail

Hyderabad: A special CBI court on Friday dismissed the central agency's plea seeking cancellation of YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's bail in cases related to alleged quid pro quo investments in his companies.

The CBI had last month sought cancellation of Jagan's bail alleging that he had violated the conditions by trying to influence a crucial prosecution witness.

The investigating agency had in its petition before the principal special judge submitted that case witness and former Chief Secretary P Ramakanth Reddy, during his interview to a newspaper and a TV channel owned by Jagan, made "unwarranted observations and comments contradictory to the statements" given before CBI.

The CBI also said that Reddy's statements were found to be detrimental to greater extent to the prosecution cases pending against Jagan and others.

After hearing the arguments and counter arguments, the court, which had earlier reserved its order, dismissed the CBI's plea on Friday.

Jagan was present in the court.

Meanwhile, the court today also allowed Jagan's petition seeking permission to visit New Zealand with his family for 15 days.

In the FIR registered in 2011, the CBI had alleged that investments were made by various companies in Jaganmohan Reddy's firms as quid pro quo for various favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2009.

These investments were quid pro quo for government favours such as land allotments, licences, etc, the CBI charged.

Jagan, thus, amassed huge wealth misusing the office of his late father, the probe agency alleged.

Several former ministers and bureaucrats are also named as accused in the cases.

The CBI had alleged in the FIR that investors had put money in the companies owned by Jagan at a premium which was a bribe in return for favours doled out to firms by his father and the then chief minister YSR Reddy.

Jagan, an MLA from Andhra Pradesh, was released from a jail in Hyderabad in September 2013 after being in prison for 15 months following his arrest in the case by CBI in May 2012.

While granting bail to Jagan, the special CBI court had then ordered him not to directly or indirectly induce or influence the witnesses.

He was also asked to be present before the court during the proceedings in the case.

The central probe agency has filed 11 charge sheets in connection with the cases and the trial is going on before the CBI court.