It would be difficult for Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy to appear for the trial at the CBI special court in Hyderabad as he was occupied with administrative functions, his counsel S. Niranjan Reddy told Telangana High Court on Friday.
Presenting contentions before Justice Ujjal Bhuyan of the HC in a petition seeking exemption from personal appearance for Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy at CBI special court, his lawyer said lot of security related protocols were also required to be followed to facilitate the CM’s appearance before the court. While adherence to security and other protocols make his appearance a complex task, his absence in A.P. would affect implementation and supervision of developmental activities undertaken there, the counsel argued.
Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, who had appeared before CBI court while being Leader of the Opposition of AP in connection with the cases registered by CBI against him, secured the special court nod for exemption from personal appearances some times. He was given exemption from court appearance after assuming charge as Chief Minister.
However, recently the special court wanted Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy to appear before it for trial of the cases. With the special court dismissing his petition seeking exemption from personal appearance, Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy moved Telangana HC by filing a petition on the matter.
There was a likelihood of lot of people coming to meet him at the court during his appearance and this would only cause inconvenience to general public, the lawyer said. He informed the court that earlier Mr. Reddy had appeared before the court every week before becoming the CM.
On special occasions, he secured permission from the court for exemption from appearance. Recalling Satyam company case, the senior counsel said that Supreme Court wanted completion of hearing in that matter within six months by allocating a special judge. Still it took two years for completion of the case, he said.
Mr. Niranjan Reddy said that different High Courts and the Supreme Court passed directions not to insist for appearance of individuals attending to public duties before the courts. He gave citations of different courts on the matter.
The plea was posted to Monday for presentation of arguments by the CBI.
