Year after accusing him of destabilising YSRCP govt, Jagan to meet CJI Ramana
This is the first time that the chief minister would be meeting Justice Ramana, against whom he had made severe allegations in his complaint to former CJI S A Bobde on October 6, 2020.
Eight months after taking over as the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice N V Ramana is going to get a civic reception from the Andhra Pradesh government headed by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on his home turf on Saturday.
According to an official spokesperson from the chief minister’s office, the CM will be hosting a hi-tea for the CJI at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram in Vijayawada at 5 pm on Saturday. “Jagan will be felicitating Justice Ramana on behalf of the state government,” the spokesperson said.
On Sunday, too, the chief minister will be attending a get-together to be hosted by Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan at Raj Bhavan for the CJI.
An official familiar with the development said Jagan might have a one-on-one meeting with the CJI after the civic reception on Saturday.
This is the first time that the chief minister would be meeting Justice Ramana, against whom he had made severe allegations in his complaint to former CJI S A Bobde on October 6, 2020.
In the complaint which was released to the media by principal advisor to the chief minister Ajeya Kallam on October 10, Jagan alleged that Justice Ramana, who was then a judge in the Supreme Court, was trying to destabilise the Andhra Pradesh government in collusion with Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The chief minister went on to allege that Justice Ramana was trying to influence the chief justice of the state high court Justice J K Maheshwari, including the roster of a few judges and cited instances of how matters important to the TDP had been allocated to a few select judges.
He asked Justice Bobde to “consider initiating such steps as may be considered fit and proper to ensure that the state judiciary’s neutrality is maintained.”
Andhra chief justice J K Maheshwari was transferred to Sikkim in December 2020, while the Supreme Court on March 24, 2021, dismissed the complaint of Jagan Mohan Reddy against Justice Ramana after giving it “due consideration” and said all the matters were dealt with under in-house procedure.
The Jagan Reddy government also initiated a CID inquiry into an alleged land scam in the capital region of Amaravati, alleging involvement of Justice Ramana’s daughters in the scam. The case, however, was dismissed by the Supreme Court on July 19 this year.
Justice Ramana, who took over as the CJI on April 24, came to the Telugu states on June 11 and was accorded a rousing reception in Hyderabad by the Telangana government led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
He also visited Tirupati to have a darshan of Lord Venkateshwara on Tirumala, but the Andhra Pradesh chief minister conveniently avoided calling on the CJI. Instead, he was received by two local MLAs and TTD Trust Board chairman Y V Subba Reddy.
However, this time, the Jagan government decided to extend a cordial welcome to Justice Ramana, who landed in Andhra Pradesh on a three-day visit on Friday. A rousing welcome was arranged for the CJI on his arrival at his native village Ponnavaram in Krishna district in the morning.
On behalf of the chief minister, his senior cabinet colleague Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, besides MLAs M Jaganmohan Rao and Vasantha Krishna Prasad and MLC M Arun Kumar received Justice Ramana and accompanied him to the village, where he was felicitated by the local people and legal fraternity.
On Sunday, the CJI will attend a series of programmes in Vijayawada and Amaravati, including addressing a judicial officers’ conference at Acharya Nagarjuna University and high court bar association at Amaravati, before returning to Hyderabad.
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