SC judge UU Lalit recuses self from hearing pleas against Jagan Reddy
Supreme Court judge U U Lalit on Monday recused himself from hearing pleas seeking action against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for levelling allegations against the judiciary.
Justice UU Lalit of the Supreme Court on Monday (November 16) recused himself from hearing petitions against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy for his allegations against the judiciary, citing he had represented one of the parties before.
“I have difficulties. As a lawyer I had represented one of the parties. I will pass an order for it to be listed before a Bench without me,” said Justice Lalit.
A bench comprising justices Lalit, Vineet Saran and S Ravindra Bhat was scheduled to hear three petitions seeking various reliefs against the chief minister.
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The pleas alleged Reddy not only wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI), SA Bobde, levelling allegations against the judiciary, but also held a press conference in which false statements were made.
In an unprecedented move, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister had on October 6 written to the CJI alleging that the Andhra Pradesh High Court was being used to “destabilise and topple my democratically elected government”.
The three separate petitions were filed by advocates G S Mani, Sunil Kumar Singh and Anti-Corruption Council of India Trust.
(With inputs from agencies)