It looks like CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to take the Andhra Pradesh high court head on, as the latter appears to be stalling every decision and every order of his government.
The Tuesday night’s order issued by the state high court stalling the investigation into the land scam involving the former advocate general and kin of a retired Supreme Court judge and refraining the media from publishing the report is the flash point and the Jagan government has apparently thought enough of it.
The First Information Report filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) naming the former advocate general and daughters of the SC judge clearly sought to expose the nexus between the previous TDP regime and judicial officers who allegedly gained pecuniary benefits.
Whether the charges made by the ACB would be proved in the court of law is a different matter, but the manner in which the high court stalled the investigation and gagged the media from reporting the news naturally leads to suspicion that something might be fishy in the whole episode.
YSRC Lok Sabha floor leader Mithun Reddy raised this issue in the Parliament on Wednesday, expressing his dissent over stifling the media by the High Court.
He further said that the enforcement of law should be the same for the Prime Minister and a common man.
Several legal and media personalities like Prasanth Bhushan, Rahul Shivshankar, Rajdeep Sardesai, Dhanya Rajendran and others also took to social media, questioning the same.
Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Advisor (Public Affairs) to the Chief Minister of AP said that the FIR was filed by an independent body upon having conclusive evidence against the accused and those involved in the scam, but the court didn’t seem to consider them on the plea of the petitioner that the government was vindictive.
“We are not vindictive towards opposition party leaders and thus we requested for fair investigation by CBI, which is a Central Government institution. The High Court orders were surprising,” he said adding that the government will move the Supreme Court.
“A known TDP activist turned Advocate General and kin of an influential person must have figured on merits of the investigation but stalling the probe in the initial stage is unprecedented,” he said.
He further questioned the timing and haste in issuing the gag order, raising doubts about the involvement of influential people.
