The Supreme Court today stayed the order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court restraining the media from reporting on the FIR on the Amaravati land scam lodged by the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) of the state police which was investigating the case.
The FIR had named 13 persons, including the former advocate general of AP Dammalapati Srinivas, his wife and the two daughters of a Supreme Court judge for purchasing land in the core area of the proposed capital allegedly taking advantage of their prior knowledge that the TDP government was going to set up a greenfield capital at Amaravati. The apex court passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by the AP government against the order of the High Court on 15 September which ordered a stay on investigations as well as reporting by the media.
The bench comprising Justices Asok Bhushan, Subhash Reddy and MR Shah said AP High Court shall not decide till Januaryend on the matter related to alleged irregularities in land transactions in Amaravati. However, it refused to stay the other directions of the High Court, including that on investigations at this stage. While no notice was issued to chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy the bench has sought responses from the AP DGP and former state advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas on the High Court’s bar on investigations which was challenged by the state government.