Plea for probe on Naidu dismissed

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The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the petition of YSR Congress MLA for a CBI probe into the alleged “disproportionate assets” of Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu “acquired” by him during his two terms as Chief Minister of the state. A Bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla disapproved the use of the forum of the apex court for "settling political scores" while dismissing Ms Vijayala-kshmi’s petition.

“The kind of political rivalry going on, you can't make the court as arena of political fight,” the Bench told senior advocates Ram Jethmalani and Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for Ms Vijayalakshim and Anil Diwan for media baron Ch. Ramoji Rao. As the court showed no inclination to entertain the petition and the counsel persisted that a “prima facie” case was made out for the CBI probe, the Bench said it was a well known fact that YSR Congress MLA, the petitioner, and the TD leader were “worst political enemies in the state”.

“We don’t want to interfere. The High Court doesn’t seem to have committed any error in declining the interference,” the Bench observed. Mr Jethmalani and Rohtagi argued that the AP HC had “ignored” various documentary evidence placed on record by the petitioner while rejecting her plea for CBI probe into the alleged assets acquired by Naidu during his two terms as the CM. On the other hand, Mr Naidu’s counsel A.K. Gangly said that the petition was “politically motivated” and a “quid-pro-quo” attempt made after HC had ordered CBI probe against YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
However, the top court said the option of filing of a complaint case before the concerned magistrate in Hyderabad was always open to the petitioner if she has sufficient evidence to make a “prima facie” case for investigation against the respondent (Mr Naidu).