A special court on Monday dismissed the CBI’s petition for police custody of Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy pointing out that the first chargesheet filed by the CBI on March 31 had been taken into cognisance by the court and summons had already been issued.
The court stated that the CBI was not entitled to police custody under Section 167 of the CrPC as the investigation was complete since chargesheets had been filed against Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and taken into cognisance.
Citing an earlier judgment, the court said that even though the YSR Congress chief was the first accused in the disproportionate assets case, the CBI had failed to arrest him at an appropriate time during the course of investigation and file chargesheet for reasons best known to it. Therefore, the CBI could not be granted police custody.
The court, however, believed that there was a prima facie case of Mr Reddy influencing the witnesses and tampering of evidence which were reasons enough to send him to judicial custody under Section 309 of the CrPc.
As the court had already taken into cognisance the first chargesheet against the accused and acknowledged a prima facie case, the court sent Mr Reddy to judicial custody for 14 days and said that criminal proceedings had already been initiated.