POINTERS OF DEVELOPMENT
A. Impending hearing tomorrow
The Supreme Court will hear on July 22, 2021, the plea of the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the high court order which stayed SIT probe into alleged irregularities in the land deals in Amaravati during the previous TDP Regime.
B. Background of the Case
On 22nd October 2015, Amaravati became the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. Former Chief Minister of the state, N. Chandrababu Naidu, declared the same, intending to make Amaravati the Smart City of India. The TDP (Telugu Desam Party) Government obtained 33,000 acres of land by combining chunks of land for building the capital into one of India’s acclaimed places.
As per the news reported in various portals, CID’s investigation disclosed that the Amaravati land scam dates back to the creation of the capital itself. The land in question is approximately 761 acres. There were registrations of chunks of this land worth Rs.200 crores, in the names of those who could barely ensure their survival.
Those with an income below Rs.5000 appeared to have bought the land. These buyers, around 797 in number, were white ration card-holders and resided in the Guntur district. Many buyers did not even have a valid PAN Card and had not paid their income tax. Forged documents were issued in their names to carry out the transactions. Forgery came into effect in Thullur Mandal, one of the mandals of the district. Sale transactions ensued between 2014 and 2015. It is also the place where city planning for the capital took place.
D. The Law Point Debate
“What is more shocking is that the writ petition was filed in anticipation of the FIR. Such a petition was completely unprecedented and not maintainable and ought to have been dismissed… A writ petition seeking to pre-empt investigation even before an FIR is registered cannot be entertained,” the petition says.
The Code of Criminal Procedure does not confer a right or protection on a “prospective suspect or accused” to seek a hearing before the Court even before registration of the FIR, the plea goes on to state.
It is also argued that the investigation in the case ought not to have been stayed by the High Court and an order to this effect goes against Supreme Court’s 2012 judgment in the case of Imtiyaz Ahmad v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors.
The investigation, it is averred, is at the threshold stage, and thus a stay on the same was not warranted, the plea states. The stay was granted by the High Court just hours after the FIR was registered. To buttress the point, the petition adds, “This Hon’ble Court has, in a catena of judgments, categorically deprecated the practice of granting a stay of investigation/refraining the investigating agency from taking any adverse or punitive action against the accused persons while hearing petitions filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.”
E. Legal Developments
An advocate Komalta Srinivasa Swamy Reddy filed an FIR at the Anti-Corruption Bureau against Dammalapati Srinivas, a former Attorney General in Guntur in September 2020. According to the claims made by him, the former AG and eleven others deceptively bought lands in Amaravati. He was in close connection with the former government then and used his position to gain an insight into the plans for the capital city. With the announcement of Amaravati as the new capital, prices of the land began touching the skies. It is alleged he purchased the grounds in the name of poor farmers. The FIR also listed the involvement of daughters of a Supreme Court judge in this.
Afterwards, advocate Reddy filed a writ petition was filed before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. In the petition, he stated that the State police and the State Government are trying to falsely accuse him of illegally purchasing Amaravati’s lands. He requested protection from any action that the respondents may take on this behalf. He also appealed that the Court keep a watch on all the investigations of the Amaravati land scam. On hearing the parties present, the High Court directed that the FIR shall not be made public in any form and called for action by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in this respect. It also ordered a stay on the land scam investigation by SIT for the time being.
The State of Andhra Pradesh v. Dammalapati Srinivas & Ors. The Andhra government filed an appeal against the orders of the High Court in the Supreme Court. It stated that stopping the investigation by SIT when it was at an essential juncture would result in the loss of crucial evidence.
In November 2020, the Supreme Court put a stay on the order passed by the High Court. It directed that the FIR against the former AG and others shall not be made public until further notice. Further, the three-judge bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justice M.R. Shah and Justice R. Subhash Reddy instructed the High Court not to pronounce any judgment on the matter.
On November 25, last year, the top court had stayed the High Court direction restraining the media from publishing news regarding an FIR lodged on alleged irregularities in land transactions during shifting of the state capital to Amaravati.
Model of assembly at Amaravati (Photo courtesy- social media
