This story is from December 15, 2018

Centre hasn’t done its job in Jagan attack case: HC

Centre hasn’t done its job in Jagan attack case: HC
(Representative image)
HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad high court on Friday gave a week’s additional time to the Union home ministry to determine whether the October 25 knife attack on YSRC chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy falls under the definition of a scheduled offence under the provisions of the National Investigation Agency Act (NIA).
The HC said: “NIA can take up a probe if it is determined by the Centre as a scheduled offence under the Act.
The ministry is supposed to do its job (of deciding whether or not to entrust the case to NIA), but it was not done.”
The bench said that the Centre cannot wash off its hands like this. The NIA Act clearly defines the colour and contours of who should do what, the court said, adding that relevant authorities should follow the Act, and the December 5 order of the Hyderabad HC.
The bench of Chief Justice TB Radhakrishnan and Justice SV Bhatt was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Jaganmohan, and others who were seeking NIA probe into it. Since this incident took place inside the Visakhapatnam airport’s VIP lounge, this case needs to be handed over to the NIA, said YSRC Mangalagiri MLA, Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, one of the petitioners.
Earlier, the bench directed the Centre to submit its stand on the matter in a sealed cover. It also wanted the Centre to look at other similar Acts that bring in Centre into picture if the victim in such cases happens to be a public servant.
Jaganmohan, opposition leader in AP assembly, is citing the statements of AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and DGP R P Thakur who described the knife attack case as a drama enacted by Jagan himself.
It was in this background that the Centre on Friday sent its report to the high court. Assistant solicitor general K Lakshman handed over a sealed cover report furnished by the Union home ministry. The bench went through the report and said the Centre has not spelt out whether it determined the offence as a scheduled offence. “The ministry has not done its job, this is not what we expected from it. We will anyway do our job. But before that, we ask the Centre to do its job, and send us another report by next Friday,” the HC said.
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