In an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh government has complained to Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, about the alleged intervention of a sitting Supreme Court judge to protect the interests of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Ajeya Kallam, principal advisor to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, said the government placed material before the CJI citing the proximity of the judge with N. Chandrababu Naidu and his interventions to protect the interests of TDP and its party men.
He said the government informed Bobde about the alleged judicial impropriety of the judge, while he was the judge of the High Court in passing orders favouring Dammalapati Srinivas, advocate general during the TDP regime.
"Government placed material before the CJI about the recent happenings and orders passed by the High Court", he added, citing the direct influence exerted by the judge over the proceedings of the High Court. The state government has also apprised Bobde about the recent High Court orders with respect to the alleged Amaravati land scam.
In the details and annexures placed before the CJI, the state government redacted the FIR information lodged on Srinivas, his family members and others, obeying the High Court's order, mandating no discussion on it anywhere. "In respectful compliance with the orders passed by the High Court in WP No. 16468/2020 dated September 15. However, all material concerning the said issue has been placed before the CJI," said Kallam.
Government furnished the material before Bobde on Thursday, along with a covering letter from Reddy. "The government shall undertake such compliances, including in the form of affidavits before the Supreme Court in regard to the above and proceed further in the matter," he observed.
The effort is only to sensitise the SC about the acts of a few individual judges
The principal advisor said that the covering letter written by Reddy itself demonstrates the enormous reverence the chief minister and the state government have towards the judiciary. "The effort is only to sensitise the Supreme Court about the acts of a few individual judges. The CM and the government seek to reiterate its abiding compliance with the laws, the Constitution and the respectful deference to all the institutions of the state," Kallam added.
Reddy wrote the covering letter on Tuesday which was submitted to the CJI on Thursday. In the annexures, the state government elaborated about specific actions of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, specific judges, some public interest litigations (PILs) and some Telugu media houses.
