About two weeks before that, Jagan Reddy had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. (File)
Highlights
- Jagan Reddy claimed the top court judge was acting on behalf of the TDP
- The judge has been accused of bias
- The senior judge has not yet reacted to the allegations
In an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has complained to the Chief Justice of India Justice SA Bobde against a senior judge of the Supreme Court. The Chief Minister has made several serious allegations against the judge, claiming he was acting on behalf of the opposition Telugu Desam Party and that he was very close to its chief and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.
The Supreme Court judge named has not yet responded to the controversy.
In an annexure to the letter to Chief Justice Bobde, the Chief Minister has expressed "pain and anguish" that the "august institution of the high court is being used to destabilise and topple the democratically elected government''.
The letter also claimed the Supreme Court judge was influencing the Andhra Pradesh High Court, and names the High court Chief Justice and four other judges.
It has been alleged the high court judges, who have been named, were rostered to handle the cases that were important for Chandrababu Naidu and the TDP.
The Chief Minister has listed out cases and examples and shared documents claiming they were evidence of judgments in favour of the Telugu Desam leaders and which allegedly "obstructed the work of his own government, both in policy decisions and investigations initiated to expose alleged corruption during the time of Chandrababu Naidu as chief minister".
The letter sent to the Chief Justice of India gives examples of what the state government has called "judicial impropriety". The list includes a gag order on media reporting, stopping of investigation in a case involving alleged land deals in which a former advocate general and daughter of the supreme court judge are accused of wrong-doing.
The Chief Minister has asked the Chief Justice of India to "consider initiating such steps as may be considered fit and proper to ensure that the state judiciary's neutrality is maintained".
The formal complaint handed over on Thursday (October 8) was dated October 6, 2020 -- the day the Chief Minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. It was described as a routine meeting, to discuss various issues of Andhra Pradesh, including request for pending dues to the government.
About two weeks before that, Jagan Reddy had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
On Saturday, Ajeya Kallam, advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government who is a retired bureaucrat and former chief secretary, read out a statement in English on behalf of the government at a press conference in Vijayawada but said he would not take any follow-up questions.