The AP High Court has on Wednesday refused to concede the request of YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy to postpone his appearance before the CBI.
Jagan’s lawyers moved a lunch motion in the HC against the CBI summons to him to appear for questioning on May 25. He sought time till June 15, the day results for by-polls are expected to be announced, to make himself available for CBI interrogation.
Earlier in the day, the CBI officials traveled to Macherla where Jagan was in the midst of election campaign and handed over summons from the investigative agency asking him to appear before it.
Jagan immediately sent a reply to the CBI in which he requested time till June 15, as he was busy with campaigning. “As president of the party, it is obligatory on may part to canvass for YSR Congress candidates contesting in the by-election,” he claimed. However, CBI SP Venkatesh refused to receive the reply letter.
Following this, Jagan’s lawyers approached the High Court and filed the petition against CBI summons. In the petition, Jagan said that that the CBI has been investigating for more than eight months now and three charge sheets have already been filed in court, but the agency called him not even once for interrogation.
“Now, when I am busy in by-poll campaign, the CBI wants to question me. As it is imperative for me to canvass in the election, I request that I may be allowed to appear before CBI on June 15,” he reportedly said in his petition.
Jagan’s gameplan in insisting on appearing on June 15, the day of results, obviously is that his party’s expected win the by-polls, would put spokes in CBI summons. But that did not seem to go his way with HC insisting on his appearance.
