Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy received respite on Tuesday with the National Company Law Tribunal-Hyderabad declaring illegal the transfer of shares of Saraswathi Power Company on the names of his sister Y.S. Sharmila.
The NCLT bench comprising Judicial member Rajiv Bharadwaj and Technical member pronounced verdict in a petition filed by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, his wife Bharathi Reddy and their firm Classic Realty. They challenged the transfer of shares made in 2024 in favour of Ms. Y.S. Sharmila. The bench announced in the open court that the petition filed by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was allowed.
The copy of the judgement, however, was yet to be uploaded when reports last came in. A few years ago, the Enforcement Directorate authorities attached all the shares of the company while investigating into the allegations of money laundering by the accused in the quid pro quo case registered by the CBI involving Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Though the shares were attached by the ED, the transfer of shares was executed in 2024 which was challenged by the former CM. He contended that shares were transferred illegally.
The dispute over transfer of the shares is connected to an unregistered memorandum of understanding of 2021. As per this MoU, the former CM agreed to transfer parts of his assets to Ms. Sharmila. He also executed a gift deed to this extent. Eventually, the siblings developed differences over some matters and Ms. Y.S. Sharmila began to politically oppose her brother. With the support of her mother Vijayamma, she got the shares transferred based on the MoU.
Eventually, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy withdrew from the MoU and even cancelled the gift deed. His lawyers contended that transfer of the shares even as the investigation into quid pro quo case was on would be viewed by the probe agencies to believe that he was behind it. The transfer of shares when they were attached by the investigating agencies cannot be sustained, they said before the bench.
Published – July 29, 2025 09:45 pm IST
