SC refuses plea seeking action against Andhra CM for his comments against judge

It also refused to allow the prayer for an inquiry by a retired judge or CBI into the allegations against Justice NV Ramana

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition seeking action against Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for going public with scandalous allegations against Justice NV Ramana of the top court.

The Supreme Court, New Delhi. (HT file photo)

A Justice SK Kaul-led three-judge bench said lawyers GS Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav’s prayer was not maintainable. It also refused to allow the prayer for an inquiry by a retired judge or Central Bureau of Investigations into the allegations against Ramana. Reddy accused Ramana of influencing the listing of cases against him with a view to destabilise his government in a letter to Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on October 6.

The bench sent another petition on the issue to be heard along with Andhra Pradesh government’s pending appeal against a separate Supreme Court order lifting the media gag on reporting contents of a First Information Report (FIR) lodged in connection with a land allotment scam at Amravati. Certain relatives of Ramana have been named in the FIR.

In the second petition, advocate Sunil Kumar Singh has questioned Reddy’s constitutional propriety in going public with his allegations. The court allowed this petition to be heard along with the pending appeal.

On Mani and Yadav’s petition, the bench said, “Once the gag order had been lifted by this Court, how do these prayers survive.” The court was referring to their prayer to restrain Reddy from making any such statement in future.

On the propriety, the bench said, “Once a bench of this Court is seized of the matter, whatever consequences are to follow that bench will examine.”

Earlier attorney general KK Venugopal refused to grant consent for initiating contempt proceedings against Reddy and his advisor Ajeya Kallam for writing the October 6 letter and the subsequent press conference on October 10. He noted Reddy’s comments were prima facie contumacious. But since the letter is pending consideration with Bobde, he refused to interfere by granting consent.