A petition was filed on Monday urging the Supreme Court to issue a show-cause notice against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy for his “frivolous and unsubstantiated allegations against a sitting judge of the Supreme Court.”
The petition filed by a lawyer, Sunil Kumar Singh, accused Mr. Reddy of making these allegations in a letter to the Chief Justice of India on October 6. The petition said the letter’s contents were then shared with the media in a press conference held on October 10 by Mr. Reddy’s Principal Adviser.
Mr. Singh asked the apex court to issue an order to bar Mr. Reddy from making such public statements against the judiciary and holding press conferences to malign the judicial institution.
“What is at stake is the confidence that courts inspire in the public in a democracy ... Discussions can go wild in the media within hours or days and affect the image of the judiciary,” the petition said.
The right places to bring allegations against the higher judiciary are Parliament or the State Legislature and not press conferences.
The petition said the constitutional immunity granted to the judiciary was to allow them to function fearlessly.
“Today criticism is levelled against the judiciary with more readiness and less deference than in the past. The respondent [Mr. Reddy] is duty-bound to respect the judiciary,” the petition said.
It said Mr. Reddy “totally failed to understand and appreciate” that “irresponsible statements” would destabilise public faith in the judiciary.
