Supreme Court judge recuses himself in pleas against Andhra CM

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned a listening to on two petitions looking for motion in opposition to Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who accused a senior choose of the apex court docket of making an attempt to intrude in and affect the functioning of the Andhra Pradesh excessive court docket.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing abusive feedback and derogatory statements on social media made allegedly by some ruling YSR Congress Party supporters in opposition to the Andhra Pradesh HC and Supreme Court judges earlier this yr, folks acquainted with the event mentioned.

In the Supreme Court, a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit expressed its incapability to listen to the matter as a result of the choose, as a lawyer (previous to his elevation), represented the chief minister in separate litigations.

“We direct the Registry to list the matter before the CJI (Chief Justice of India) for appropriate orders to list the matter before a bench of which Justice Lalit is not a member,” the three-judge bench, additionally comprising Justices Vineet Saran and S Ravindra Bhatt, mentioned.

The two petitions — one filed collectively by Supreme Court legal professionals GS Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav, and one other by lawyer Sunil Kumar Singh — sought a present trigger discover in opposition to CM Jagan for making a number of allegations in opposition to Justice NV Ramana, the senior most choose of the Supreme Court after the Chief Justice.

Jagan, in a letter to CJI SA Bobde on October 6, alleged that many judges of the Andhra Pradesh excessive court docket have been biased in opposition to the state authorities and that Justice Ramana was influencing the HC roster and getting instances in opposition to the state authorities listed earlier than such judges.

On October 10, Jagan’s principal advisor, Ajeya Kallam, disclosed the contents of the letter to the media at a press convention. The two petitions within the Supreme Court have been filed after that press convention.

The plea by Mani and Yadav demanded a declaration from the apex court docket that Jagan had no authority to carry the workplace of the chief minister as he’s “misusing his position and power by making false, vague, political and scandalised remarks and allegations openly in the public and media” in opposition to Justice Ramana. They additionally demanded a time-bound judicial inquiry by an impartial company into the allegations.

The different petition prayed for a course asking Jagan to not make insinuations earlier than public or to the media in opposition to judges of the Supreme Court.

Attorney General KK Venugopal on November 2 refused to grant consent for initiating contempt in opposition to Jagan and his advisor over the difficulty, partly as a result of the matter was already earlier than CJI Bobde (within the type of the CM’s letter). However, he held that the conduct of the 2 to be “contumacious” and referred to as the timing of the letter “suspect”.

Jagan’s allegations got here inside a month of an order handed by Justice Ramana on September 16 in a public curiosity litigation coping with fast-tracking of legal trials in opposition to sitting and former legislators. There are a number of such instances in opposition to Jagan.

Several of Jagan’s colleagues have additionally been making feedback in opposition to the judiciary.

Last week, CBI took over 12 first info studies (FIRs), registered by Andhra’s Crime Investigation Division (CID) from April to July, on the grievance of the Registrar General of the Andhra Pradesh excessive court docket and clubbed them into one case.

Sixteen folks have been named accused by CBI in its FIR registered on November 11. They have been charged below varied sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), together with sections 153A (selling enmity between completely different teams on floor of faith, race, residence, language and many others), 504 (intentional insult with intent to impress breach of peace), 505 (inciting a group), 506 (legal intimidation) and part 67 of Information Technology Act.

According to the CBI FIR, distinguished folks gave interviews and posted on social media a number of allegations in opposition to Supreme Court and HC judges.

“These people posted abusive, life threatening and intimidating posts against judges on Facebook, Twitter over recent judgements delivered by judges of Andhra Pradesh HC,” CBI added.

Reacting to the event, senior YSR Congress Party legislator and authorities chief whip G Srikanth Reddy mentioned that feedback made by some folks on social media, allegedly in opposition to some HC judges, mirrored folks’s sentiments.

“Whenever there is any judgment from the high court against the state government, the (rival) Telugu Desam Party leaders are claiming it as their victory. Doesn’t it given an impression among the people that the judiciary in the state is acting in favour of the TDP?” he requested.