Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Telangana High Court seeking former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s presence at a Hyderabad special court in a 10-year-old case being investigated by the agency.
In a writ petition filed Saturday, the ED sought a daily trial in the case, and said Jagan Reddy’s presence—along with that of the 73 others accused—would help in timely resolution of the matter.
In its petition, the central agency cited the prolonged delay of nearly a decade, arguing that nine prosecution complaints filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, had languished at the preliminary discharge petition stage without reasonable expedition.
By demanding that the special court for CBI cases in Hyderabad conduct daily hearings and revoke routine exemptions on personal appearances, the ED said it intends to dismantle systemic procedural bottlenecks and fast-track the conclusion of “high-stakes economic offences”, which it classified as a critical threat to the nation’s economic health.
The ED has sought a speedy trial citing Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which relates to personal liberty.
“The proceedings have remained pending in Y.S. Jagan’s case for nearly 10 years, and the chronology of the proceedings itself demonstrates the absence of reasonable expedition in the prosecution to the matter,” the ED said, adding that a speedy, day-to-day trial would be in the “interest of justice”.
While neither Jagan Reddy nor the companies named, or the YSR Congress Party, have responded to the ED’s sudden move, the fact that the development comes a day after the party wrote to the state election commissioner seeking reinstatement of voters deleted during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise has raised many eyebrows.
Stripping Jagan of his exemption from personal appearance would physically bind him to the special court in Hyderabad, severely restricting his ability to tour Andhra Pradesh, which he planned from 2027. At a time when the YSR Congress Party is seeking to coordinate public agitations closer to the imminent local body polls, the party founder’s presence in Hyderabad could impact its performance, political analysts have argued.
ED cites SC precedent
The ED shared details of the petition through a press note posted on X.
ED, filed Writ Petition No. 33845/2026 before the Telangana High Court on 23.09.2026, seeking a speedy, day-to-day trial and the personal appearance of all accused in the PMLA, 2002 Prosecution Complaints against Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and 73 others in connection with allegations… pic.twitter.com/2cr32qA8dT
— ED (@dir_ed) October 10, 2026
In the press release, dated 10 October, the ED said its investigation was initiated based on a first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the direction of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. According to the ED, it was investigating Jagan Reddy and 73 others over what was described as huge investments into Jagan and his family’s companies. This, it claimed, was part of the quid pro quo for the alleged favours his late father, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, extended to several industrialists during his term between 2004 and 2009.
The ED investigation has revealed that the alleged investments were made by companies and individuals including Aurobindo Pharma, Hetero Drugs, Indu Projects, Indu Tech Zone, Lepakshi Knowledge Hub, VANPIC Projects, Ramky Infra, India Cements, and Nimmagadda Prasad,. These stock-exchange listed and public limited companies allegedly invested into Jagan-owned firms such as Bharati Cements (named after his wife), Jagati Publications (the publisher of Sakshi newspaper), and Janai Infrastructure, etc., owned by his family members.
The ED filed nine prosecution complaints against Jagan and the others before the special court for CBI cases, Nampally, Hyderabad between 2016 and 2021, it said. While the court has taken cognisance of all the complaints, the ED said, there has been no significant progress even after a considerable period of time. “Discharge petitions were heard by the special court but (it) has not yet decided due to either transfer of presiding officers or other reasons,” it said in its note.
The ED referenced its move to seek the personal appearance of all the accused to the Supreme Court’s observation during a 2013 criminal appeal where it said that economic offences constitute a class apart, and that they needed to be visited with a different approach. “The economic offences having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole, and thereby, posing serious threat to the financial health of the country,” the agency said.
Edited by Sunanda Ranjan