VIJAYAWADA: A division bench of the AP High Court headed by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishara took serious objection to the comments made by Justice Chandru, retired judge of the Madras High Court, during a programme organised in Vijayawada recently.
During a hearing on a petition filed by Registrar General on derogatory remarks against judiciary on social media, the Chief Justice, without taking any names, said some judicial celebrities make certain comments in a bid to be in limelight. He said judges too are humans and it is human to err. Justice Mishra asked what was the need for a person from other State to comment on the AP High Court. That person forgot the purpose of his visit and commented on the AP High Court overstepping his limits, the Chief Justice said.
He directed the CBI to file an affidavit on the progress of investigation into the case regarding derogatory remarks against Judiciary.
Meanwhile, dealing with a petition on the delay in clearing bills to the contractors who supplied furniture and stationery to village secretariats, Justice B Devanand found fault with the comments of Justice Chandru. He said those “highly objectionable” comments have ruined the image of the High Court. He felt that if Justice Chandru has any objection against anyone criticising that person was okay, but commenting on the Andhra Pradesh High Court as a whole was not proper.
Justice Devanand said the respect he had for Justice Chandru is not there anymore. “Justice Chandru doesn’t deserve respect anymore,” he said and objected to the comment that the State government is fighting against the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
The judge said Justice Chandru seems to have overlooked the fact that the AP High Court has been issuing orders to protect the rights of the citizens. He said comments of the former judge were like comments during a film publicity event. He sought to know how it is wrong to seek a CBI investigation into the comments made against the judges.
Justice Devanand said he thought of writing a letter to the Chief Justice seeking action against Justice Chandru for contempt of court but did not, considering his past contribution to the judiciary. He said next month, he will complete two years in office and in the past 23 months had disposed of 4,000 cases. “If anyone proves that I had acted against the Constitution, I would immediately step down,” Justice Devanand said. He pointed out that among 25 High Courts in the country, only Andhra Pradesh High Court has no basic infrastructure. It is the responsibility of the State government to provide such infrastructure, he added.