Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing rift between the state government and the judiciary, Andhra Pradesh High Court judge Rakesh Kumar Thursday said the court and the Supreme Court were “under attack by the persons in power” in the state.
Naming Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, the judge said state officials appeared to have been “emboldened” after the CM’s letter to CJI, making allegations against judges.
Justice Rakesh Kumar’s observation came in response to a plea filed by the state earlier this month that sought Kumar’s recusal from hearing cases related to the sale of government land. The judge Wednesday rejected the application and ordered a criminal proceeding on the grounds of perjury against a state official for submitting a false affidavit.
Kumar said the government was trying to undermine the high court, after doing so with the legislative council and the state election commission.
He also said a disturbing trend has “developed in the system”, wherein those with influence, “both in money and muscle” feel they can do “anything as per his convenience and to the peril of the system or poor citizen”.
“It is unfortunate that such a petition was not filed by a private party but on behalf of the state. I was astonished with such behaviour but also perceived that state bureaucrats have been emboldened after the success of Chief Minister Jagan in addressing a letter to CJI, making allegations against one of senior judges of Supreme Court, Chief Justice of Andhra High Court, judges of HC with their name,” he said in his order.
Additional Advocate General (AAG) Sudhakar Reddy had filed the plea on behalf of the Andhra government raising objections against Justice Kumar’s comment during a past hearing that the court will “declare there is breakdown of constitutional machinery in the State and hand over administration to the Central Government”. However, Justice Kumar denied making such a statement.
The Jagan Reddy government’s face-off with the judiciary has been continuing for a few months now.
The court has objected to many crucial decisions of the state, including the three-capital idea and the Amaravati land scam issue.
In October, Jagan wrote to Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde, alleging that the high court was trying to destabilise his government by passing orders, based on petitions by the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which created hurdles for the government’s functioning. In his letter, he also named Supreme Court Justice N.V. Ramana and his supposed proximity to former CM and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu.
Also read: Jagan vs judiciary — a face-off which involves 100 high court orders & now a SC judge
Transfer of HC judges gives CM ‘undue benefit’, says judge
Justice Rakesh Kumar had earlier voiced reservations about the Supreme Court collegium’s proposal to transfer the chief justices of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh high courts and other judges from the courts across the country.
The transfers, he said, would delay the proceedings in the three-capital issue, and also the pending CBI cases against the CM, giving Reddy an undue benefit.
“Whether by this act of sending an unceremonious letter to the CJI, the Chief Minister will get final relief or not, but the fact remains that he succeeded in getting undue advantage at the present moment. People may draw inference as if after the so-called letter, the two Chief Justices (of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) have been transferred,” he noted in the order.
Kumar clarified he is not questioning the transfer of the chief justices, but called for some transparency in the matter given that these are constitutional posts.
‘Protection of fundamental rights in Andhra becoming difficult’
In the 63-page order, Justice Kumar also made sharp comments on how protection of fundamental rights of the state’s citizens has become difficult for the court considering the prevailing situation.
“I have noticed blatant violation over the rights of the citizens granted under the Constitution. I have come across several writ petitions with complaints from persons, without following due process of law, were picked by State through its police,” he noted.
Justice Kumar was heading the bench that converted a hearing on a batch of habeas corpus petitions and pleas alleging police excesses into a hearing on the issue whether there is a “constitutional breakdown in Andhra Pradesh”. The Supreme Court issued a stay on the proceedings on an appeal by the state government.
Justice Kumar observed how the state police in September, on the Supreme Court’s mandate to focus on expediting criminal proceedings against politicians, filed a closure report in eight criminal cases in which CM Jagan Reddy was an accused and investigation had been pending for several years.
Also read: Ex-Andhra HC judge questions probe into his phone chat on SC judge’s alleged misconduct
State to move top court over Justice Kumar’s comments
Reacting to Justice Kumar’s latest observations, AAG Sudhakar Reddy said the Andhra government was considering approaching the Supreme Court in the matter.
“The statements made by him in the order have nothing to do with the petition… it looks like these comments were made based on his personal intentions. The state government has decided to go to the top court over this,” Reddy said Wednesday.
In his order, the judge said the current friction between the state and the judiciary could have been avoided had senior law officers given proper legal advice to the government.
Also read: ‘Terrorising judiciary, bench-hunting’ — How Andhra CM’s charges against SC judge are being seen
Sad state of affairs between legislature and judiciary. If the judiciary both in Supreme Courts and High Courts had stood for the law irrespective of who was in power then politicians would not have had the guys to oppose them. But once the door is open, the foxes will step into the chicken coop.