The CBI, in a counter affidavit filed before Justice G. Sridevi bench of Telangana High Court, opposing 11 writ petitions filed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, said that Mr. Reddy cannot seek exemption from court appearance by virtue of his position as Chief Minister.
If exemption was granted to him, the likelihood of influencing the witnesses cannot be ruled out, the CBI authorities stated in the affidavit. They recalled that in the past the HC had dismissed Mr. Reddy’s petitions filed with similar prayer. They said that it was close to eight years since the first charge-sheet was filed against Mr. Reddy. The last of the 11 charge-sheets was filed nearly six years ago. Yet, the trial had not yet begun in those cases, they stated. Mr. Reddy was attempting to be above the law by seeking exemption from court appearance despite being accused of complicity in serious financial crimes.
It would not be difficult for him to travel from Vijayawada to Hyderabad in the backdrop of availability of modern transport systems to appear before the court once a week. The CBI officials said that Mr. Reddy had cited the example of Dalmia, who was granted exemption from court appearances by the Supreme Court, in this petitions.
But Dalmia was accused in a single case whereas Mr. Reddy was facing several such cases, the affidavit stated.
