Indian Express newspaper came out with an exclusive story saying that AP Chief Justice JK Maheswari was transferred following the Jaganmohan Reddy letter to the Chief Justice of India.
As per the story, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has initiated steps to reform the judiciary in the wake of the letter written by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy addressed to him on October 6, 2020.
Jagan Reddy had accused Supreme Court Second Senior Judge Justice NV Ramana of influencing the roster of the Andhra Pradesh High Court to favour the rival Telugu Desam Party. The CM also accused AP Chief Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari of bias.
As part of the reforms, Chief Justice Maheshwari was shifted to Sikkim and his Telangana counterpart R S Chauhan to Uttarakhand. The CJI got Jagan to send his complaint in the form of an affidavit (given under oath).
Also, the CJI sought responses from Justice Ramana and Justice Maheshwari to the allegations levelled by Jagan Reddy. Chief Justice Maheshwari is said to have sent his reply to the CJI but there’s no information about Justice Ramana’s response. The CJI is said to have discussed it with fellow judges who said the charges made by Jagan required ‘deeper examination’.
Analysts say that the latest report might have been planted by the YCP following the damaging remarks made by Justice Rakesh Kumar against the Chief Minister.
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