New Delhi, July 22: The Supreme Court has refused to stay an Andhra Pradesh High Court order directing the CBI to conduct a preliminary probe into allegations of corruption and disproportionate wealth against Jaganmohan Reddy.
“We are not inclined to interfere (with the high court order),” a two-judge bench said today. “These petitions are devoid of any merit.”
The high court on July 13 told the CBI to probe if Jagan had amassed wealth by laundering money during father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s term as chief minister. A Congress state minister had filed a PIL on the matter. On July 17, CBI sleuths visited the site of Jagan’s unfinished five-storey mansion in Hyderabad.
Jagan challenged the high court order today. His lawyer Mukul Rohatgi dubbed the case as that of “political vendetta” because the PIL was filed by a leader of the Congress, a party Jagan has quit.
“There is no verification by the (high) court to satisfy itself about the correctness of the averments in the letter. My reputation has been tarnished…. My right under Article 21 (right to life) is infringed,” Jagan’s appeal said.
But Justice Dalveer Bhandari asked: “Is the court denuded of the power under Article 226 to order a PE (preliminary enquiry)?”
Rohatgi insisted that his client’s reputation had been tarnished. “The damage is already done,” he said, to which Justice Bhandari shot back: “Why are you scared? You may be exonerated.”
When Rohatgi wondered whether the material given to the high court was sufficient to order a probe, the apex court bench told him: “If there is substance in the (CBI) report, the law will take its own course. If not, the court will throw it out.”
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