Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy recently wrote a complaint of eight pages to CJI S.A. Bobde putting some allegations against the most senior SC judge N V Ramana and some other judges in AP High court. In his reaction to the complaint, Justice Ramana said that a Judge needs to take decisions fearlessly and stand up bravely to all pressures and odds.

The letter was written on October 6, the same day when Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy met Narendra Modi in New Delhi. In the letter, Reddy, in an escalating conflict between him and the SCI judge and other high court judges accused Justice N.V. Ramana of corruption and of conspiring against his government. At a recently held press briefing, the Andhra Chief Minister’s principal advisor, Ajeya Kallam, distributed copies of the letter by Jaganmohan Reddy and also read out a note in which the CM alleged that Justice Ramana had used his influence with the help from erstwhile N. Chandra Babu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government in the state to favour his daughters. The note also mentioned that Ramana had been influencing the sittings of the High Court including the roster of a few Honorable Judges and instances of how matters important to Telugu Desam Party had been allocated to a few selected Judges, adding that he (Ramana) has grabbed control of documents which show the “nexus” between Justice Ramana, TDP, and a few other judges of the high court.

Justice Ramana is in line to be the next Chief Justice of India from 24 April 2021 after the superannuation of current CJI Justice S.A. Bobde. He has taken up a PIL seeking to expedite snail-paced trials in criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs in Andhra Pradesh which has been a cause of worry for Reddy. The CM sent a complaint to the CJI soon after the HC bench led by Justice Ramana sought action plan from the High Courts for completion of trials against the suspected netas in Reddy government within a year. Reddy has also been booked in over two dozen criminal and corruption cases.

Many lawyers’ bodies across the country including Bar Council of India, Supreme Court Bar Association, Supreme Court Advocates-On-Record Association (SCAORA) and Delhi High Court Bar Association have condemned the act of Andhra Pradesh CM of writing the letter to the Chief Justice of India, which was described as unwarranted, making allegations against the sitting apex court judge.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s direction to the Chief justices of High Courts to adjudicate over 4,000 criminal cases pending against sitting and former lawmakers, the Telangana high court directed the CBI special court handling Jagan mohan Reddy’s disproportionate assets cases to complete its work at the earliest. Reddy was charged as a prime accused in several cases relating to assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and money laundering by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. The CBI had also filed charges in 2012 against Reddy, accusing him of amassing more than Rs 1 lakh crore of wealth by misusing the office of his late father, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who was then the CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

In this development of the Judges vs CM conflict, Justice Ramana said, “There are innumerable qualities that a person needs to live, what can be called a good life: humility, patience, kindness, a strong work ethic, and the enthusiasm to constantly learn and improve oneself.” He was speaking at the condolence meeting in memory of former SC Judge A R Lakshmanan. He also added that the members of the judicial hierarchy have inherited the legacy of dedicated collective endeavor by the bench and the bar in establishing an unbroken tradition of high efficiency, perfect integrity and fearless independence. He stressed on the need of independence in judiciary which is reflected in the Indian constitution. He further added that the legal professionals like the judges should take inspiration from the words of late A R Lakshmanan,  and should strive to commit to a vibrant and independent judiciary which is required in the current times.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.