Andhra Pradesh CM complains to CJI Bobde against top SC judge, alleges ‘interference’

In an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, alleging that a sitting Supreme Court judge — Justice NV Ramana — has been “influencing” the sittings of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, including the roster of a few judges.

The 8-page letter refers to the judge’s “proximity” to former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation into “questionable transactions of land”, involving two daughters of the judge and others in Amaravati before it was declared the site for the new capital of the state.

In the letter, CM Jagan Mohan Reddy alleges that the top court judge “influencing the course of administration of justice in the state” ever since his party gained power in Andhra Pradesh.

The letter reads: “Ever since the YSR Congress Party gained power in May 2019 and ordered an inquiry into all the deals made by the regime of N Chandrababu Naidu from June 2014 to May 2019, the judge started influencing the course of administration of justice in the state”.

“The complaint of cheating and crime investigation is stayed on the ground that the money involved in the transaction is repaid by the accused. Every judicial precedent and the elementary principle of jurisprudence is violated by such orders, with a view to protect the interests of TDP members,” the letter reads.

“While the Supreme Court has been steadfast in ensuring no prior-restraint on publication by media, a gag order on the media is passed,” it says.