HYDERABAD: In a significant development, Telangana advocate general K Ramkrishna Reddy on Friday made an unscheduled appearance before Justice B Siva Sankara Rao of the Hyderabad High Court and told the judge that there is a convention where the judge recuses himself from hearing the case when one of the parties expresses some apprehension.
It may be recalled that Jerusalem Mathaiah, the fourth accused in cash-for-vote case, had filed a petition in the High Court seeking to quash the criminal case registered against him by the ACB. Justice Siva Sankara Rao had granted an interim stay (on the arrest of Mathaiah) and Elvis Stephenson, the complainant in the case, filed a petition urging the judge to recuse from hearing the quash petition.
When the recusal petition came up for argument on Thursday, the Advocate General chose not to give his opinion on this issue. However, on Friday the AG came to the court of Justice Rao.
The AG told Justice Rao that there were several instances where the judges recused themselves from hearing cases. He said the MLA has made a request in this regard and that the court may consider it. He submitted a copy of a book written by a senior Supreme Court advocate wherein an instance of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court recused himself from hearing a case following a request by the counsel.
The judge told the Advocate General that he has taken note of the submissions and said that he will consider this while delivering the orders on the petition on Monday.