HC relief for Dharmana

In some relief for the Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday allowed, on technical grounds, a petition filed by him challenging the order of the special court for CBI cases that maintained prior permission for his prosecution in Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's disproportionate assets case was not required.

Justice B Seshasayana Reddy of the High Court allowed Dharmana's petition merely on the ground that the trial court had no power to review its own order.A Dharmana contended in his petition that, "The special court initially accepted to prosecute me only under the provisions of IPC and refused prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act provisions on the pretext that sanction for prosecution is required."

Later the special court allowed a memo filed by the CBI which said prosecution permission was not required since he committed the alleged offences when holding the portfolio of Revenue, but now he was holding the Ministry of Roads and Buildings, Dharmana said in the petition. According to CBI, what the Supreme Court had ruled in the case of Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala applied for Dharmana and prior sanction was not required to prosecute the minister. Dharmana pleaded that the trial court cannot review its own order and take cognizance of the charges leveled against him.

After hearing the case, the judge made it clear that he did not rule either way on whether such sanction was required or not. He said he was only allowing the Minister's plea on the ground that the trial court had no power to review its own order.A Meanwhile, Dharmana appeared before the trial court in connection with the disproportionate assets case registered against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. Apart from Dharmana, IAS officers Manmohan Singh and Samuel also appeared before the court in connection with the same case. The Principal Special Judge U Durga Prasad posted the case for next appearance on May 13. The court also extended the judicial custody of Jaganmohan Reddy, Nimmagadda Prasad, IRAS officer K V Brahmananda Reddy till May 13.

Meanwhile, another IAS officer B P Acharya appeared before the trial court in connection with the Emaar-APIIC land scam. Apart from him, other accused G V Vijaya Raghav and Koneru Prasad appeared before the court in the same case. The court posted the case for next appearance on May 13.A The court also extended judicial custody till May 13 of Sunil Reddy in Emaar-APIIC case, Gali Janardhana Reddy, B V Sreenivasa Reddy and K Mehfuz Ali Khan in the illegal mining case. Former mining official V D Rajagopal, who has been granted bail earlier by the court, appeared before the court in the same case.