Jagan denied bail, more properties attached

The Supreme Court today dismissed the bail plea of YSR Congress leader and Member of Parliament Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in a disproportionate assets case against him which allegedly involves multiple crores.

'Jagan', as he is popularly called, will have to cool his heels in jail for some more time after a bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai ruled that he can apply for bail only after the Central Bureau of Investigation completes its investigation in all the seven cases lodged against him.

"The contours are much larger," the bench observed while refusing to entertain the persistent plea of senior counsel Gopal Subramaniam, who appeared for Jagan.

The development comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate attached properties belonging to Jagan reported to be worth Rs51 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The agency, which functions under the finance ministry, has questioned Jagan extensively in the past few months. On Thursday it attached more than 13 acres of land of Janani Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and fixed deposits worth Rs14.50 crore of Jagati Publications Ltd as "kickbacks allegedly received in lieu of granting favours" to private entities.

Responding to queries from the bench in the Supreme Court, the CBI said it would complete the investigation by 31 March 2013. However, it later told the bench that it would try to complete it much more expeditiously.

The apex court passed the order after additional solicitor-general Mohan Parasaran and senior counsel Ashok Bhan, appearing for the CBI, contended that Jagan cannot be granted bail as investigations are still under way in seven cases against him and letters rogatory have been issued to various countries as the cases have international ramifications.

Parasaran said the total amount accumulated by Jagan and his associates, insofar as the four charge sheets have been filed, amounted to over Rs3,000 crore.