Supreme Court To Pronounce Judgment Next Week On Justice Eswaraiah's Challenge Against AP HC Enquiry Into Alleged 'Phone Call Conspiracy'

Dismissing an interlocutory application filed seeking to re-open arguments in the petition of former Andhra Pradesh High Court judge Justce V Eswaraiah, the Supreme Court on Monday said that it will pronounce judgment in the case next week, on April 12.The former High Court judge has filed the petition in the Supreme Court against an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court directing for a judicial inquiry into an alleged phone conversation between him and a District Judge plotting 'conspiracy' against the Chief Justice of the High Court and a sitting Supreme Court Judge.The interlocutory application was filed stating that the mobile phone of District Judge Ramakrishna, with whom Eswariah was allegedly having the conversation, was lost.A Bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan heard the submissions put forth by Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra and proceeded to dismiss the Application. The Court recorded that Luthra had submitted that "in Case Crime No. 401/2020 under Sections 467, 468, 471, 406, 420 r/w 34 IPC one Mr. Ramakrishna was arrested and certain materials were seized from him which also included an iPhone…He further submits that iPhone was stolen from custody of the police station i.e. the State custody which was bearing on the issues in the present petition". It was consequently observed by the Court that the seizure and stealing of the iPhone is unrelated to the present proceeding and that it was for the concerned person, i.e. Ramakrishna, to take appropriate proceedings in accordance with law. Therefore, seeing no reason to entertain the Applications, the Court proceeded to dispose of the same. The judgement will now be pronounced next Monday, 12th April.In today's hearing, Luthra submitted that the controversy had arisen as the recording device in which the alleged conversation had been recorded had gone missing from police custody. "How is it that in such matters that these devices get stolen from the police station? In the main matter, the whole issue is regarding the order which was under challenge. Now inquiry is predicated on material that has gone missing. This points to the fact that this needs consideration. This is something that the Court should take note of before passing the Order", contended the Luthra. The Court, however, was not convinced and proceeded to dismiss the matter. At the previous hearing, the Supreme Court deferred pronouncement of the judgment in the matter after being apprised by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal that an Application had been filed relating to the seizure of the phone of District Judge Mr. S. Ramakrishna with whom Justice Eswaraiah was allegedly speaking. It was on February 22 that a Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy reserved orders on the petition filed by Eswaraiah against the AP High Court order, which entrusted the enquiry with former Supreme Court Judge Justice R V Raveendran. During the hearing, Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for Justice Easwariah submitted that the High Court has passed the impugned order in a "strange" manner, while hearing an unconnected petition. He said, "Here what the HC has done is that...they were hearing a matter related to a death of a HC staff due to COVID due to non-following of protocols in HC. In that case, a suspended district judge files an impleading petition and produces the alleged conversation between him and Easwariah." Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Kapil Sibal had appeared for certain intervenors who were opposing Justice Easwariah's plea. Earlier, the Court had required Justice Eswaraiah to file an Affidavit regarding alleged private phone conversation with Mr. S. Ramakrishna, a suspended District Munsif Magistrate of Andhra Pradesh, into which an inquiry has been ordered by the High Court. The High Court had requested former Supreme Court judge Justice RV Raveendran to enquire into the matter. After it was alleged that the phone call disclosed a "serious conspiracy" against the High Court Chief Justice and a senior sitting Judge of the Supreme Court, the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed an investigation by a retired Supreme Court judge into it, against which order Justice Eswaraiah had moved the Top Court. Click Hear To Download/Read Order

Supreme Court To Pronounce Judgment Next Week On Justice Eswaraiah's Challenge Against AP HC Enquiry Into Alleged 'Phone Call Conspiracy'

Radhika Roy

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