Being wealthy does not disentitle me to bail: Jagan

New Delhi, Jul 10: YSR Congress Party leader and Kadapa MP

on Monday moved the Supreme Court for bail against the state High Court order, which denied him the relief in the

against him.

Asserting that the CBI did not have a shred of evidence against him, Reddy argued that merely being wealthy or in public life does not deprive him of his right to get bail.

"It is trite to say that merely being wealthy or in public life cannot disqualify an accused from the basic protections offered by the law. Despite the fact that 'bail, not jail' being the norm, the High Court has relied on extraneous factors, including the alleged loss of public money, which is yet to be proved, to deny him the bail," he said.

In the special leave petition filed through counsel Senthil Jagadeesan, the rebel Congress leader submitted that there was "complete and utter misapplication of the principles governing bail jurisprudence by the High Court, leading to deprivation of his right to liberty granted by Constitution."

"This complete and utter misapplication of the principles governing bail jurisprudence by the High Court has led to a continuing deprivation of the rights of the petitioner under Article 21 of the Constitution."

"The CBI has wholly failed to show a shred of proof to suggest that the petitioner would tamper with evidence or influence witnesses. In fact, the High Court has also ignored the basic fact that for over nine long months and three charge sheets after the registration of the FIR, the petitioner has enjoyed his freedom without any complaint of influencing the more than 150 witnesses listed," the petition said.

On Jul 4, the High Court had rejected Jagan's bail plea on the ground that he had the propensity to influence witnesses.

PTI