Court Rejects CBI Plea To Cancel Jagan's Bail

The CBI court in Hyderabad on Friday dismissed a petition filed by the prosecution seeking cancellation of the bail granted to YSR Congress Party president and Leader Of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

The CBI had filed a petition about two months back seeking cancellation of Reddy's bail on the grounds that he was trying to influence the witnesses in an ongoing case involving his assets (he was granted bail in September 2013 after spending 16 months in jail in the case). Referring to an interview of retired chief secretary R Ramakanth Reddy, aired on Sakshi TV recently, the CBI prosecutors alleged that Jagan was trying to influence the witnesses in the case as the channel belonged to him.

However, defense lawyer Niranjan Reddy argued that his client was in no way concerned with Ramakanth Reddy's interview as the editorial board decided those matters.

After hearing arguments from both the sides, the court dismissed the CBI petition as it found no connection between the said interview and Jaganmohan Reddy. As the petition was dismissed, the YSRCP chief is now also allowed to travel to New Zealand for a family vacation.

Welcoming the CBI court's decision, YSRCP said that in fact it was Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who had tried to influence the court by repeatedly mentioning the case in public meetings.

"The court decision is a slap on Chandrababu's face," said party spokesman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy.