Amitha Muraleedharan
The Supreme Court of India has stayed the gag order passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court related to the Amaravati land scam case.
The Apex Court order was hearing the petition of the Andhra Pradesh government opposing the High Court order on September 15.
The High Court order had obstructed media from reporting about an FIR registered by police in the Amaravati land issue.
The Andhra Pradesh police had registered an FIR against the former Advocate General and 13 other persons, that also included two daughters of an SC judge for purchasing land in the area of Amaravati on a pre-awareness of it being selected as the new capital.
Justice Ashok Bhushan stated that the High Court could not decide the unsettled cases associated with illegal land transactions in shifting of the state capital to Amaravati.
The bench, also including Justice R S Reddy and Justice M R Shah, refuses to stay other direction of the High Court, which included the stay on the investigation into the FIR in the matter.
For the ex-AG, senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi stated that it had become public knowledge that Amaravati will be the new capital.
Several people had bought land from 2014, which does not make it illegal to acquire land in 2015.
On behalf of the ex-AG, the advocates stated that the case was a clear face of regime revenge.
The Supreme Court adjourned the case to January.