The state government is contemplating a proposal to attach the properties of YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy under the provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944.
According to highly-placed sources, the state government, after discussing with the Central Bureau of Investigation, has decided to accord sanction to the agency to move an application before the concerned court for attachment of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s properties, particularly holdings by his Jagathi Group of Publications.
The Ordinance enables the state to attach the money or other property of any person which the state or the Centre believes was procured by committing an offence. Even before the court takes cognisance of the offence, the Ordinance empowers the state to attach the property of a person if it has reason to believe that the person has committed a scheduled offence, a legal expert clarified. The CBI’s chargesheets filed before the special CBI Court, charge Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy with amassing wealth by using the good offices of his father’s (YSR’s) government to get investments in his companies.
Jagathi: CBI to act before bypolls
An official associated with the move to attach the properties of Jagathi Publica-tions, confirmed on condition of anonymity, that the CBI is preparing documents for the government to sanction, which will permit attachment of the properties till the completion of the trial. The plan is to complete the attachment process before the Election Commission issues the notification for byelections in 18 Assembly and one Lok Sabha constituency, the official added. It may be recalled that in its ongoing investigation, the CBI has charged that Rs 1,246 crore was invested by various companies in Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s companies as a quid pro quo for benefits they were given by the state government either by way of land or getting concessions, when YSR was the Chief Minister.