Filing her counter in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against the objections raised by her son YS Jaganmohan Reddy and daughter-in-law YS Bharati over transfer of shares in Saraswati Power plant, YS Vijayamma has rejected their claims.
“I deny the allegations made by my son Jagan and daughter-in-law Bharathi. It is deeply disturbing that I have to stand in the courtroom due to a dispute between my children. I am filing a counter-affidavit with a heavy heart. The allegations made by Jagan and Bharathi are baseless and do not stand up to judicial scrutiny,” she said.
She and Jagan’s younger sister Sharmila Reddy further made it clear that NCLT cannot interfere in the family agreement made by legally gifting company shares. They said that it does not have the authority to interfere in family settlements. They said that family dispute resolutions do not come under the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
It may be recalled that former chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy had filed a petition in the NCLT, claiming that his mother and sister had transferred Saraswati Power shares without his knowledge. He claimed that the transfer should be cancelled and that the 51.01 percent shares in his name, his wife Bharathi and their company Classic Realty should continue as usual.
He argued that as he had given those shares as a gift to his mother and that he could take them back at any time. He said that it was illegal to transfer the shares he had gifted to Sharmila in the context of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigating Saraswati Power assets. He sought to block the transfer of these shares.
However, Vijayalakshmi and Sharmila claimed that Jagan had filed a false case in the NCLT due to political motives and reasons. To this extent, they filed separate counters in the tribunal. Both of them gave strong answers to Jagan’s petition with 38 points. They said that a family dispute has been turned into a company dispute.
Vijayalakshmi said that the transfer of Saraswati Power shares was done as per the ‘Memorandum of Agreement (MoU)’ signed between the family on August 31, 2019. She revealed that the entire transfer of shares was done as per the law. The mother and daughters claimed that all the ‘claims’ he is making on the transfer of shares are wrong.
They said that the petition was filed to mislead the tribunal and requested the NCLT to examine the evidence they had submitted explaining the facts on the legally concluded MoU and issue orders. Meanwhile, NCLT held a hearing on Jagan’s petition on Monday. Senior advocate and YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP S. Niranjan Reddy appeared virtually on his behalf and presented arguments.
Although notices were issued to Vijayalakshmi, Sharmila and other respondents in September last year to file counters, only two of them have filed them. He said that if everyone submits counters, they will file a rejoinder. After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the tribunal adjourned the next hearing to March 6.
