Telangana High Court links PILs to ED plea in former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy case for trial

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Friday directed its Registry to list a writ petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), seeking expeditious trials in money laundering cases against MPs, MLAs and others, along with two pending petitions dealing with the same issue, on October 13.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Narasing Rao Nandikonda directed that the ED’s petition be listed along with WP (PIL) No 77 of 2023 and suo motu WP No 11 of 2023.

The ED filed the present writ petition on September 23, seeking directions to the Special Court for CBI cases at Nampally, Hyderabad, to take up and dispose of its prosecution complaints and pending discharge petitions within a stipulated timeframe.

It also sought day-to-day hearings and the personal appearance of all the accused during the proceedings.

The agency submitted that it had filed nine prosecution complaints under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and others between 2016 and 2021. Cognisance had been taken in all nine cases, but the proceedings had remained at the preliminary stage due to the pendency of discharge petitions.

According to the ED, its investigation arose from a CBI FIR concerning alleged quid pro quo arrangements involving government favours extended during the tenure of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy as chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh and alleged investments in companies linked to Jagan and his family members.

The ED contended that the proceedings had remained pending for nearly a decade without substantial progress and invoked the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial under Article 21.

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