Hear CBI case against Jagathi first: Telangana HC to trial court

HYDERABAD:  In a major relief to Jagathi Publications, represented by Brahmananda Reddy and its auditor YSRC MP V Vijayasai Reddy, Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Thursday quashed the January 11, 2021 order of the trial court (ED/CBI Special Court) that it would first hear the ED case and then the CBI’s quid pro quo case. The trial court is hearing both the CBI’s quid pro quo case and the ED’s money laundering case against the accused.

On Thursday, the High Court said that while the trial for the offence of money laundering can proceed independent of the trial for the scheduled offence, since the outcome of the trial for the scheduled offence has a direct bearing on the trial for the ED case, it would be in the interest of justice if the Special Court takes a pause and awaits the judgement in the quid pro quo case. It observed that it may result in a paradoxical conclusion if the subject person is later acquitted of the scheduled charge while previously convicted of money laundering under the PMLA. This would be not only contradictory, but also counter to well-established legal principles, Justice Bhuyan said.

According to Jagathi Publications and its auditor, the ED registered the cases based on earlier charges filed by the CBI. The petitioner claimed that the trial court did not initially determine whether or not a fraud occurred. As a result, holding the trial of the ED cases first was unjust, it argued.

The trial court stated that the trial in the ED case would begin first, followed by the trial in the CBI’s 11 chargesheets in the same case. Dissatisfied, Jagathi and Vijayasai filed separate petitions claiming that the trial court erred in reaching this conclusion. The petitioners contended that it would be absurd to hold a person guilty in a ‘proceeds of crime’ case without first determining whether the person committed the crime in the first place.