Andhra Pradesh HC Issues Gag Order on Amaravati Land Scam Case

The order issued by Andhra Pradesh Chief Justice JK Maheshwari also stayed the investigation into the case.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court issued an injunction against any reporting by the media on the contents of the First Information Report (FIR).

(Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

Hours after Andhra Pradesh's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday, 15 September, registered a corruption case against several people and accused them of abusing their official position to buy land in Amaravati, ahead of its announcement as the capital, the high court issued an injunction against any reporting by the media on the contents of the First Information Report (FIR).

The News Minute was also among a few media outlets which had reported about the case and had to pull down its article after the court order. Other media outlets also did the same.

The order issued by Andhra Pradesh Chief Justice JK Maheshwari, which stayed the investigation into the case, said, "It is further directed that the news in regard to registration of FIR or in the context of the said FIR shall not be made public in any electronic, print or social media, to foist the office of a former Advocate General and also with respect to the other alleged accused persons."

The development came as Andhra Pradesh's ruling party YSRCP urged the Union government on Tuesday to order an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation investigation into the alleged land scam in the Amaravati capital region, during the previous TDP regime.

The YSRCP, which had already made a request in this regard a couple of months ago, decided to once again raise the issue during the ongoing Parliament session.

The YSRCP alleged that the then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government resorted to insider trading, benefiting Chandrababu Naidu, his family members and those close to them. Speaking in Parliament, the party reiterated that the information about choosing Amaravati as the location for building the new state capital was leaked by those in power and they, through their aides, purchased land in and around Amaravati at throwaway prices.

The investigations conducted so far including by a Cabinet Sub-Committee revealed that before the announcement of Amaravati as the state capital, 4,069.94 acres of land was purchased in Krishna and Guntur districts by those involved in insider trading.

(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)