VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh bureaucrats have been “emboldened” by Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s letter to the CJI, in which he brought charges against the SC’s senior judges and the high court, a judge in court said on the eve of your retirement. .
AP Superior Court Judge Rakesh Kumar made the observation as he ruled on a guilty plea that sought his recusal from hearing a series of petitions challenging the sale of government land. Judge Kumar admitted that he did not know whether the CJI had initiated contempt proceedings against Jagan for writing the letter. “But it is a fact that the SC referee has made a recommendation to transfer the chief judges of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” he said.
Even when clarifying that he was not raising any questions about the transfer of the chief judges, Judge Kumar said that he was obliged to observe that the transfer of the superior court judges or the chief judges should “reflect a certain transparency.”
After all, they also hold constitutional offices, as do members of the Supreme Court collegiate, he added.
The bench of the division of Judges Kumar and D Ramesh rejected the request for recusal presented by the state government and approved an order initiating criminal proceedings against the director of Mission Build AP and senior IAS official, Pravin Kumar. The court said the officer had submitted a false affidavit, which amounted to perjury.
The court issued notices to Pravin Kumar, asking why action should not be brought against him for contempt of court for attempting to interfere with the performance of the judicial functions of the higher court with false accusations.
Judge Kumar also wrote a separate judgment in his defense against the allegations made in the disqualification petition. “With heavy heart, I cannot refrain from recording that the protection of the fundamental rights of the citizens of Andhra Pradesh has become very difficult,” he said.
He mentioned how the police filed closure reports in more than seven pending cases against the CM one day after the SC issued a ruling to expedite cases against legislators. He said the current CM is charged in more than 30 cases, of which 10 are registered by CBI in which charges have been filed long ago. Judge Kumar said he did not know if the CM would get final relief in the cases by writing to the CJI.
“But the fact is, he managed to gain an undue advantage today,” he added. With the transfer of the judges, the cases against Jagan will be delayed, he said.
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