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The events coinciding with the details mentioned in the former CM’s petition confirmed that the stand-off between Jagan and Sharmila widened after the latter chose to float her party in Telangana in 2021 and then join the Congress to lead it in Andhra Pradesh
The bitter rift between former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and YS Sharmila took a turn for the worse after he moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against his sister and mother YS Vijaya Rajasekhara Reddy over transfer of shares in a family-owned firm.
The petition filed by Jagan Mohan Reddy and his wife YS Bharathi Reddy accused Sharmila, Vijayamma and two others of illegally transferring shares of Saraswati Power and Industries Private Limited in July 2024 and violating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between them in August 2019.
Calling it a ‘deceitful deviance of law’, they alleged that shares were unlawfully transferred through a mere Board resolution on July 6, 2024, without submitting original share certificates or duly executed share transfer forms as prescribed under Section 56 of the Companies Act, 2013.
“Respondent no 2(YS Sharmila) in a deceitful manner went ahead and implemented the share transfers without the share transfer forms being signed by the Applicants (YS Jagan & Bharati) which has created potential legal complications for the Applicants….the Respondents don’t have any right, title or interest over the said shares of the Applicants and that the alleged transfer is invalid, illegal, void and therefore needs to be set aside,” the petition stated.
According to the petition, Jagan and his wife had initially signed an MoU on August 31, 2019, ‘purely out of love and affection’ to allocate a portion of shares to YS Sharmila but there was no actual transfer of shares as the gift deed signed by them earlier was a ‘mere manifestation of the intent’.
This was the same year Jagan became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh after securing a landslide win over Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party in the assembly election. He had also credited his success to Sharmila’s padayatra that she conducted while he was in jail. But the relationship between the siblings soon turned sour owing to multiple property disputes.
The events coinciding with the details mentioned in the petition also confirmed that the stand-off between Jagan and Sharmila widened after the latter chose to float her party in Telangana in 2021 and then subsequently join the Congress to lead the party in Andhra Pradesh.
According to a source close to the family, the final nail in the coffin was when Sharmila accused Jagan of shielding the killers of their uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy and lashed out at him for backing their murder accused cousin, sitting Kadapa MP Avinash Reddy.
Jagan also explicitly mentioned in the petition that “there is no love left” and blamed his sister for casting “uncharitable aspersions at a personal level that were politically motivated”.
“It is humbly submitted Respondent 2 (YS Sharmila) without gratitude and regard to the well-being of the Applicant no.1(YS Jagan) conducted a series of actions that deeply hurt the petitioner. Respondent 2(YS Sharmila) also made several untrue and false statements publicly that have caused deep personal disrepute to Applicant no. 1(YS Jagan) The action of Respondent 2 have strained the relationship between the siblings … immensely agonised by the turn of events and having realised that there is no love left between the siblings, Applicant no.1 decided not to proceed with his expression of intent to transfer the shares/properties as envisaged under the MoU and gift deed”.
While the matter will be taken up by the NCLT in November, the properties in question cannot be transferred as they have been attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A source close to Jagan Mohan Reddy told CNN-News18 that the decision to approach the NCLT was a precautionary measure to prevent legal issues in the event of cancellation of Jagan’s bail.
“There was a complete breach of trust, Sharmila’s actions went against their mutual understanding. Saraswati Power Company is not part of the family’s inherited assets, it has been solely developed by Jagan. It was made very clear that the assets couldn’t be transferred until the ED and CBI cases were resolved, yet Sharmila executed the gift deed deceitfully in violation of court’s restriction,” the source said.
SHARMILA’S EXPLOSIVE LETTER TO JAGAN
Meanwhile, News18 also accessed YS Sharmila’s letter to Jagan dated September 12, 2024, in which she responded to the legal case filed against her by him. She also accused him of terminating the MoU unilaterally.
“You have chosen to file cases against your own mother and deprive your sister and her children of properties to which they are entitled under the MoU, I am appalled at the extent to which you have strayed from the path of our noble father,” the letter read.
Sharmila further said the gift deed was only a partial fulfilment of their father, the late YSR’s, directive and accused Jagan of forcing her to give up on her demand of getting equal shares in Bharathi Cement and Sakshi — two major companies owned by the family.
“The assets mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding as being transferred to me out of love and affection were in truth only partial fulfillment of our father’s directive. I must emphasise partial as you insisted on retaining majority share in Bharathi Cements and Sakshi. But since you did bulldoze your way, we agreed to a settlement as stated in the MoU. Since you are my elder brother and in the interest of the family I agreed to give up my equal share…….On Saraswati Power, you pledged to transfer all its shares to me immediately following the MoU, but you failed to fulfil this promise for several years…You have chosen to raise unnecessary disputes and take the family to the court. This has been done with the clear motive to deprive me of the shares in Saraswati Power I am legitimately entitled to,” Sharmila wrote to Jagan.
Besides the family-run businesses, the letter also clearly mentioned that both the sides have also been sparring over the family’s Bengaluru residence, a sprawling property spread over 20 acres in Yelahanka.
- Location :
Andhra Pradesh, India