HYDERABAD: The Special CBI court on Friday reserved its order for November 21 on the income tax department’s plea for copies of documents the CBI collected with regard to the cases against Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy and Emaar Properties.The hearing of arguments by both the parties was completed by the magistrate B Naga Maruthi Sharma.Presenting his arguments, Jaganmohan Reddy’s counsel E Uma Maheswara Rao said there was no specific provision for the income tax department to seek documents after his client had submitted proper documents while filing returns for tax assessment.“Why is the IT department seeking the documents? They don’t know what kind of documents they are seeking,’’ Rao remarked.He said they were ready to cooperate with the investigating agency for investigation. “The CBI seized documents of Jaganmohan Reddy in connection with one case and the IT department is seeking those documents for another purpose. Moreover, why is the IT department, after going through all the soft copies of the documents that were seized by the CBI, seeking the documents,’’ he wondered.“Before seeking documents, the IT department must have clarity on what kind of documents it requires and for what purpose,’’ he said.The income tax department had, on October 31, moved the Special CBI Court for copies of the documents seized by CBI during the probe into the corruption allegations made against Jaganmohan Reddy and the alleged irregularities in the Emaar Properties land deal.The IT officials have filed two applications before the court, seeking directions to the central investigating agency to provide information on the seized material so that the department could ‘frame’ pending assessment of Jagan, some companies owned by him, and the Emaar Hill Township Pvt Ltd.In August this year the CBI registered a case against Jagan, the son of former chief minister the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, on the instructions of the High Court for cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.In his earlier arguments, Jaganmohan Reddy’s counsel had sought dismissal of the income tax department’s petition seeking copies of the documents seized by the CBI while probing corruption allegations against him claiming that the petition was not maintainable by law.Referring to the IT department’s petition, Reddy’s counsel filed a counter and opposed the IT department’s petition on the ground that “no provision has been cited by the IT department seeking the documents.” Terming the contents mentioned by the IT department in its petition as false, he said, ‘’The contention of the petitioner that the seized materials are very much relevant to concluding the assessment of Jaganmohan Reddy and his group of companies, which are pending in the office of IT department, is incorrect and there is no basis in this regard.’’Similarly, the Emaar Hill Township Pvt Ltd (EHTPL) also sought dismissal of another petition filed by the IT- Hyderabad department seeking sharing of material (for the purpose of assessments) seized by the CBI in connection with the alleged irregularities in the Emaar Properties land deal.The CBI registered a case in August in connection with the alleged irregularities in APIIC-Emaar Properties land deal wherein Emaar is accused of selling plots at Gachibowli here at belowthe- market prices.
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