High Court Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday dismissed a criminal petition filed by YSRCP rebel MP Kanumuru Raghu Ramakrishna Raju seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy by CBI special court judge in CBI cases.
Pronouncing the verdict in the petition, the Chief Justice observed that Mr. Raju had the locus standi to move the High Court for an order in the matter but he had failed to provide a single instance of violation of bail conditions by Mr. Reddy. The Chief Justice, citing Supreme Court verdict, said that “bail once granted once cannot be cancelled unless a cogent case on supervening events is made out.”
In another case, the apex court ruled that “very cogent and overwhelming circumstances are necessary for cancellation of bail already granted.”
Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan also stated that the Supreme Court had observed that “cancellation of bail is a harsh order because it takes away the liberty of an individual granted and is not to be lightly resorted to.”
Mr. Raju alleged that Mr. Reddy is misusing bail by threatening witnesses in the case who were working under him by virtue of his position as Chief Minister. However, Mr. Raju had not mentioned the names of the witnesses whom Mr. Reddy had allegedly threatened.
Merely saying that Mr. Reddy is abusing his position “is no ground to cancel the bail,” the judgment said. Also accusing Mr. Reddy of not having regard for democracy and judiciary cannot be a ground to cancel the bail, the verdict said.
In a separate matter, the Chief Justice allowed the criminal petition filed by IAS officer D. Muralidhar Reddy, who was made twelfth accused in CBI cases involving Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, setting aside the charge-sheet filed against him and the action of CBI court taking cognizance of the charge-sheet.
