The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it has dismissed the complaint of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy against a senior top court judge after giving it “due consideration”.
It said however that all the matters dealt with under the in-house procedure being “strictly confidential in nature, are not liable to be made public”.
The statement posted on apex court website said, “A complaint dated October 6, 2020 sent by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh to the Supreme Court was dealt with under the In House Procedure and the same, on due consideration, stands dismissed. It be noted that all the matters dealt with under the In-House Procedure being strictly confidential in nature, are not liable to be made public”.
On October 6, in an unprecedented move Mr. Reddy wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde alleging that a senior Supreme Court judge has been influencing the sittings of Andhra Pradesh High Court and acting in the interests of Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
He has alleged that the Andhra Pradesh High Court was being used to “destabilise and topple my democratically elected government”.
Andhra Pradesh CM’s letter an affront to judiciary, says ex-Supreme Court judge
Mr. Reddy had requested the CJI to look into the matter and consider initiating steps “as may be considered fit and proper to ensure that the state judiciary’s neutrality is maintained”.
Mr. Reddy had alleged that the senior apex court judge had proximity to TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and that a “former judge of the honourable Supreme Court placed this fact on record”.
After his government initiated an inquiry into the actions of Mr. Naidu’s regime between 2014-19, he had said, “it is now clear that the judge started influencing the course of administration of justice in the state...” Naming some high court judges, Mr. Reddy had alleged they had a “nexus with the Supreme Court judge and the Telugu Desam Party and displayed animosity towards my government and me”.
Editorial : Unpleasant spectacle
The apex court judge’s influence was in the areas of “roster for sitting of the honourable Judges, whereby important matters of policy and protection for Mr. Naidu’s interests were posted before a few honourable judges”, he alleged and referred to some orders to buttress his claims.
The chief minister’s letter to the CJI dated October 6 and his Principal Advisor Ajeya Kallam had released it to the media in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh on the night of October 10.
