Hyderabad, Oct 10 (IANS) Invoking the right to speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Telangana High Court seeking speedy and day-to-day trial in money laundering charge sheets filed against the former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and others, an official said on Saturday. The petition filed by the ED before the High Court on September 23 has also sought the personal appearance of all the accused, including YSR Congress Party President Jagan Mohan Reddy, in the charge sheets filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the official said in a statement.

The ED approached the High Court with the prayer to direct the criminal justice system to ensure that proceedings are conducted with reasonable expedition, it said. The proceedings have remained pendinag in the Jagan Mohan Reddy case for nearly 10 years and the chronology of the proceedings itself demonstrates the absence of reasonable expedition in the prosecution of the matter, the ED said. The petition was filed before the High Court to conduct a speedy and day-to-day hearing/trial of the charge sheets filed along with discharge petitions mentioned, in the interest of justice, it added.

The investigation pertained to alleged governmental favours extended to large corporate entities and individuals and the receipt of huge investments into companies of Jagan Mohan Reddy and his family members as part of a quid pro quo arrangement for the favours extended by the Andhra Pradesh government during his Chief Ministership, the ED said. The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the direction of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh under Sections 120-B read with 420 of IPC, 1860, and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Jagan Mohan Reddy and others.

The ED investigation revealed that substantial investments were made by companies and individuals such as Aurobindo Pharma, Hetero Drugs, Indu Projects, Indu Techzone, Lepakshi Knowledge Hub, VANPIC Projects, VANPIC Ports, Nimmagadda Prasad, Ramky Pharma City (India) Ltd, The India Cements Ltd, among others, through subscription of shares at exorbitant rates into companies such as Bharati Cement Corporation, Jagati Publications, and Janani Infrastructure, which are related to Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his family members.

The ED filed nine charge sheets against Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and others before the Special CBI Court at Nampally in Hyderabad between 2016 and 2021, the statement said. "Cognisance was taken in all nine charge sheets and the cases remain pending for hearing of discharge petitions. The pendency of these discharge petitions has kept the charge sheets at a preliminary stage and consequently delayed further progress," the ED said. The ED added that even after considerable time has elapsed since cognisance was taken, there has been no significant progress in the proceedings before the Special CBI Court.

Discharge petitions were heard by the Special Court but have not yet been decided due to transfers of presiding officers and other reasons. "While considering the seriousness of the case, in one of the criminal appeals, No. 730 of 2013 (Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy vs CBI), the Supreme Court said that economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach," the ED said. The apex court said that economic offences having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country.

--IANS