The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court order related to the transfer of two Chief Justices done by the Supreme Court Collegium.
The Bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal set aside the observations made by the single-judge Bench of Justice Rakesh Kumar on December 30, 2020 and disposed of the matter.
The Apex Court passed the order on a petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the December 30, 2020 verdict of the High Court.
The single-judge Bench had expressed its strong disapproval to the transfer of two Chief Justices by the Supreme Court Collegium. It had further castigated Chief Minister Y S Jahan Mohan Reddy for his apparent attempts to undermine the courts. The observations were made while adjudicating a plea seeking the judge’s recusal from a case involving a challenge to auctioning the state land.
Referring to the transfer of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Justice by the Supreme Court Collegium, the single-judge Bench of the High Court had said that this could result in undue benefits for the government in the southern state.
Justice Kumar said that for a situation prevailing today, in which impartiality, integrity, honesty, and unbiased nature of the judicial system were being raised, to some extent, the courts were also responsible. He said several instances have been noticed in which immediately after demitting the office of judge, judges were provided with new assignments.
As per the High Court judge, one could infer how the government in the state of Andhra Pradesh was proceeding. First, an attack was made on the Legislative Council, thereafter another constitutional body, the State Election Commission and now, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and even the Supreme Court were under attack by persons in power, he added.