In a recent development, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in response to a petition filed by dissatisfied YSR Congress MP Raghu Ramakrishna Raju. The petition seeks the annulment of the bail granted to Chief Minister Reddy in a case related to disproportionate assets.

A bench consisting of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal directed the Registry to present the cases before a suitable court in the initial week of January 2024, following guidance from the Honorable Chief Justice of India. This move comes after a previous request for responses from both the CBI and Chief Minister Reddy regarding a petition seeking the relocation of the trial for the disproportionate assets case.

The current case, pending before a court in Hyderabad, Telangana, may be transferred to a court in another state, with the Patiala House Court in the national capital being a preferred option. The bench, previously comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti, issued a notice to the CBI in response to a transfer petition filed by Raju. The bench instructed the probe agency to explain the delay in completing the trial.

Raju, in his petition, raised concerns about the alleged manipulation of the state machinery, specifically the CBI, to favor the Chief Minister. The petitioner claimed that Chief Minister Reddy, accused of amassing wealth of approximately Rs 40,000 crore, has taken measures to keep the criminal trial inactive. The plea highlighted the lack of effective actions against him, describing the criminal trials as 'friendly matches' between the accused and the prosecution.

According to Raju's petition, the case involving disproportionate assets dates back to 2012, with the CBI filing 11 chargesheets in connection with it, leading to the emergence of 11 additional cases. The Supreme Court's notice indicates a significant development in the legal proceedings, bringing attention to the alleged misuse of judicial processes and the need for a thorough examination of the case in the coming months.