HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh high court on Saturday granted the Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI) five-day custody of Jaganmohan Reddy, the YSR Congress chief and
accused number one in the assets case. The CBI custody of Jagan will begin from Sunday
morning, Justice Chandra Kumar ruled.
The CBI has charged the YSR government (2004-2009) of bestowing undue favours and
concessions to private promoter Nimmagadda Prasad in the land allocation for the
industrial corridor and port project spread over 28,000 acres in Guntur and Prakasam
districts and that in turn, Parsad invested in the companies floated by Jagan.
On Saturday, Justice Chandra Kumar heard both the CBI as well as Jagan's counsel on the
issue. While the CBI argued for his custody, Jagan's lawyers wanted the entire case against
him quashed on the grounds that both the case against him and his arrest were illegal. After
hearing the CBI and the defence, the judge reserved his orders for noon on Saturday.
However, the suspense lingered on with the announcement that the verdict would be
pronounced at 2.15 pm. Finally, it was delivered at 3.35 pm. Most likely, the CBI will be
granted daytime custody of Jagan, meaning that he would be driven down from
Chanchalguda jail every morning to the Dilkusha Guest House for questioning and brought
back to the jail for the night.
The verdict is a setback for Jagan as the high court in the process dismissed his petition
seeking interim bail on the grounds that he needs to campaign for his party, the YSR
Congress, for the bypolls scheduled for June 12.
While Jagan's CBI custody ends on June 9, his judicial custody will end on June 11, a day
before the bypolls. "In effect, Jagan will not be able to campaign for the bypolls," said
sources.
Meanwhile, the city police are putting in place security for the route that Jagan would be
taken from the jail to the Dilkusha Guest House for the next five days. This is being done to
ensure that YSR Congress supporters do not stage demonstrations enroute. Security in the
rest of the state too is being beefed up in view of the latest development, police sources said.