Amaravati land scam: SC defers judgment on plea by ex-Andhra HC judge
The deferment order was passed after the court was informed that the phone of the former judicial officer, Ramakrishna, had “mysteriously” gone missing after he was arrested in an unconnected case
The Supreme Court on Friday delayed its judgment on a petition by former Andhra Pradesh high court judge V Eswaraiah against an investigation into an alleged phone conversation between him and a suspended judicial officer. The two are accused of plotting against judges of the constitutional courts during the conversation.
The deferment order was passed after the court was informed that the phone of the former judicial officer, Ramakrishna, had “mysteriously” gone missing after he was arrested in an unconnected case.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for one of the petitioners before the Andhra Pradesh high court, alleged the loss of the phone is deliberate to subvert the inquiry into the conversation.
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Taking on record this development, a bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, deferred the pronouncement of the order and fixed April 5 as the next date for hearing.
Earlier, the retired judge filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court admitting he was “trying to collect more evidence” on the alleged involvement of the daughters of a sitting top court judge in a land scam in Andhra Pradesh’s Amaravati.
The sitting judge, the leaked conversation and a First Information Report registered in connection with the Amaravati land cases make it clear, is Justice NV Ramana.
The high court cited a “serious conspiracy” to destabilise the judiciary and ordered the investigation into the conversation. In August, it named retired Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran to look into the genuineness of the alleged conversation, the persons involved, and undisclosed interests of a third party.
