Jagan Slaps Case Against Sharmila

Vijayawada: After fighting for the political legacy of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the differences in the family over assets have come in the open as YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against what he termed the illegal transfer of shares in Saraswati Power and Industries Pvt Ltd by his estranged sister YS Sharmila.

The petition was filed by Jagan, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, who is at present a party MLA from Pulivendula constituency in Kadapa district, and YS Bharati, his wife and an entrepreneur. The case is scheduled for hearing on November 8 in the Hyderabad centre of NCLT. The complainant sought annulment of transfer of shares by Sharmila, mother YS Vijayamma and two respondents based on an MoU signed by Jagan and his sister in 2019.

The relationship between the two siblings strained after Sharmila formed a political party based in Telangana and later merged it with the Congress. On the eve of general elections, she was appointed AP Congress Committee president.

Vijayamma, who was the working president of YSRCP for some time, due to her closeness to her daughter, subsequently resigned from the primary membership of the party and decided to throw her weight behind Sharmila’s political crusade.

Sources told Bizz Buzz that Jagan signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sharmila to give part of the shares in the Saraswati Power and Industries Pvt Ltd because of his bonding with his sister and later decided not to go ahead with it due to political differences with her. He has admitted that the love and affection between them have ceased after her decision to fight politically against him. When Jagan was in jail, Sharmila had undertaken a Statewide padayatra traversing a distance of 3,000 km to pep up the spirit of the rank and file of the YSRCP.

An aide of Jagan said out of love and affection for his sister Sharmila, he had signed MoU to allocate a portion of his ‘self-acquired assets,’ including shares in Saraswati Power Company, to her. However, since these assets were under attachment by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) due to ongoing legal cases, the MoU explicitly stated that the transfer would only happen once the legal issues were resolved, he stated.

Despite being aware that the assets were legally attached and under court restrictions, Sharmila allegedly transferred shares from their mother Vijayamma’s name, citing the MoU. This action potentially put Jagan in a legally precarious position, as these assets were not supposed to be transferred under court restrictions, the aide pointed out.

Jagan’s legal team cautioned him that this illegal share transfer could cause significant legal issues, especially with political opponents potentially using the situation to seek a revocation of his bail in the alleged quid pro quo case now under investigation by the CBI. The lawyers warned that his association with the disputed transfer could harm his legal standing in ongoing cases.

Following legal advice, Jagan immediately objected to the share transfer and took steps to safeguard himself from further legal complications. He moved to legally distance himself from the unauthorised actions, the aide stated alleging breach of trust on the part of Sharmila.

He also contended that the gift deed was executed as far back as 2021, but Jagan refrained from completing the share transfer, underscoring his intention to wait until all legal matters were settled before proceeding with any asset transfers.