In a big relief to YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the special court for CBI cases in Hyderabad on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by rebel YSRC MP K Raghurama Krishnam Raju seeking cancellation of his bail in the alleged quid pro quo case.
The CBI court, which admitted a petition filed by Raju in April this year, pronounced its judgement after a prolonged hearing from both the sides.
The court also dismissed a separate petition of Raju seeking cancellation of bail of Jagan's close aide and YSRCP parliamentary party leader V Vijay Sai Reddy.
Earlier, the CBI court on July 31 had reserved its judgment to August 25. But the court postponed it to September 15, as it had to hear the arguments in the petition against Sai Reddy.
The CBI court disagreed with the arguments of the rebel MP that Jagan had violated the bail conditions in connection with the quid pro quo case investigated by the CBI in 2012.
There was no complaint from any of the witnesses that Jagan tried to intimidate them or influence them after coming to power.
Raju contended in his petition that Jagan had tried to influence several officials, who were co-accused in his case, by posting them in key positions, such as chief secretary, principal secretary and advisor to the government.
Since all the witnesses cited by the prosecution in the quid pro quo case have now become subjects of Jagan, he would influence them not to depose against him before the trial court, Raju argued.
But the CBI court felt that Raju’s apprehensions appeared to be purely hypothetical and were not substantiated by any material evidence to prove that Jagan had influenced any witnesses.
Soon after the CBI court dismissed his petition, Raju said he would challenge the judgement in the state high court.
“I will not hesitate to go even to the Supreme Court to get the justice,” the rebel MP asserted.