Principal special judge for CBI cases A. Pullaiah, moved over to CBI judge Nagamaruthi Sharma, the bail plea of Vijay Sai Reddy, the vice-chairman of Jagathi Publications, for a fresh hearing. The II additional special judge for CBI cases took up the fresh hearing on Wednes-day, following the recent HC directions that the court should consider the bail plea, specifying valid reasons.
Senior counsel Susheel Kumar, appearing for Mr Vijay Sai Reddy, argued that the petitioner was not part of the conspiracy as alleged by the CBI. “According to the CBI, the main conspiracy was between the late CM Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, his son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and other officials. My client was not a party to it. His role was limited to accommodation of the alleged ill-gotten wealth,’’ senior counsel argued.
The defence counsel said his client was not a public servant and had nothing to do with the Prevention of Corruption Act. The judge asked CBI SP H. Venkatesh to make a note as to what should be the CBI’s contention if the petitioner was not released on bail till the conclusion of the trial. The CBI sought time to present its arguments on April 30, but later agreed to present the same on Thursday.