‘HC Land Deals Gag Order Unprecedented, Will Move SC’: Andhra Govt

File image of Chief Minister Jagan Reddy and Andhra Pradesh map, used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, an advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Government (Public Affairs), on Wednesday, 16 September, said the state will challenge the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s gag order.

A Bench of the high court, in an order on Tuesday night, asked media not to report on an FIR filed by the AP Anti-Corruption Bureau against a former legal officer and others over land purchase in Amaravati.

“Our party and government feel that Tuesday night’s order by the court, that too a top court, is unprecedented. We have never seen or heard of this kind of order before. Normally, we see governments trying to muzzle the media or bringing in laws to put curbs on the media. When that happens, we have seen that courts have come forward to safeguard the rights of the media. After the High Court’s order Tuesday night, we are left wondering how the situation has changed so drastically,’’ Ramakrishna Reddy told The Indian Express.

‘Law Should Be Same for Everyone’: YSRCP MP

YSRCP MP Midhun Reddy said that media freedom has been curbed by the court, reported The News Minute.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Midhun Reddy said: “The High Court has passed a gag order and issued a stay on the SIT (special investigation team)- saying that the land scam should not be shown on TV. All this is just because a former legal officer and a judge's kin has been accused in the case.”

Midhun Reddy reiterated the YSRCP’s demand that the Central Bureau of Investigation should probe the 4000-acre land scandal in Amaravati. The YSRCP MP alleged that a huge land scam took place in finalizing the capital city for Andhra Pradesh under the Chandrababu Naidu government.

He also demanded a CBI probe in the Antarvedi chariot fire case, claiming that the incident is being communalised.

(With inputs from The Indian Express, The News Minute)