CBI refuses exemption, but Jagan will go on his walkathon

YSR Congress president and Opposition leader in Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to go ahead with his six-month long padayatra (walkathon) from 2 November, even though the CBI court is refusing to exempt him from his weekly appearance every Friday before it regarding ongoing corruption cases.

Jagan has announced his padayatra plans at the YSR Congress plenary held at Amaravati on 9 July. He was to begin his walkathon on 22 October from his late father and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddys’ memorial at Idupulapaya in Kadapa district and walk for about 3,000 km covering around 125 out of the total 175 assembly constituencies by April end.

Since then, he and his legal team have been trying to secure the clearance from the CBI court where he is being tried in a clutch of disproportionate assets and corruption cases. Jagan is now directed by the CBI court to appear before it every Friday. When he was released from jail on bail five years ago, the CBI court made it a condition that he was to appear before it every week.

In between, he was exempted from appearance, but the trial court considered his every request on a case by case basis. The CBI court which is hearing around a dozen charge-sheets filed by the CBI against Jagan and several others is under the watch of the Supreme Court which wanted it to dispose of the cases fast.

This is a reason why the CBI court has been declining to grant weekly exemptions to Jagan for six months from 2 November this year to 2 May 2018. Jagan is keen on getting the exemption as he wants to finish his padayatra without any interruptions.

The CBI court declined to agree to his request in September first week and Jagan went to the High Court to get the permission. However, the HC made it clear that he would have to get any such concession only from the trial court. As he could not secure permission on time, Jagan postponed his padayatra till 2 November.

Jagan called for a meeting of the party seniors at his Lotus Pond residence in Hyderabad on 11 October and told them that he wants to go ahead with the programme ­notwithstanding the CBI court’s final decision on his plea. He then moved a petition before the court under CrPC Section 317 which allows trial being held in the absence of the accused.

When his petition came up for hearing on Friday, in the presence of Jagan, the CBI court said that he cannot be exempted from personal appearance for “purely political reasons”. The CBI counsel argued that there was no ground for allowing Jagan to be absent from the trial as it would delay the completion of the case.

Now the matter is posted for 20 November. A senior lawyer who is handling Jagan’s case told The Sunday Guardian that he would go ahead with the Padaytra irrespective of the outcome on 20 November.