Justice Gokhale says that chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan gave wrong impression about his report
A week after the Madras high court named former telecom minister A Raja as the high profile person who tried to influence a judge in a criminal case, the issue is turning into a larger controversy involving the higher judiciary.
After former chief justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan claimed that the then Madras HC chief justice HL Gokhale did not name Raja in his report to him, Gokhale issued a press statement on Tuesday, contradicting him. The latter is a Supreme Court justice now.
Last week, Balakrishnan, speaking at a press conference, had flatly denied that he had received a letter from justice Reghupathy of the Madras HC regarding Raja’s call. He also said Gokhale’s letter did not mention the name of any minister.
Reacting sharply, justice Gokhale said justice Balakrishnan’s statement “gives an erroneous impression about my role in the matter’’.
He said on June 5 last year, he had forwarded justice Reghupathy’s letter to the ex-CJI. The name of the former telecom minister was specifically mentioned.
“The former CJI has stated in his press conference that in my letter I did not mention the name of any Union minister having talked to justice Reghupathy over phone to influence him… With respect to this statement, I may point out that justice Reghupathy’s letter was already with him and in the second paragraph thereof he had specifically mentioned the name of Raja,’’ he said. In fact, on August 8 last year, justice Balakrishnan had acknowledged the letter, justice Gokhale said.
Justice Balakrishnan was evasive when reporters in Ahmedabad questioned him on the controversy. Changing his line of argument, he said justice Reghupathy had not written any letter to him naming Raja.
“He had not written to me as chief justice of India. He had written a letter written to the then Madras high court chief justice (Gokhale),” he said.
The issue has taken an interesting turn at a time when a larger bench of the SC is slated to hear an appeal by the court’s registrar on whether the CJI could reveal the contents of the letter as asked by the information commission.
Former law minister Shanti Bhushan said: “It’s surprising if justice Gokhale is saying that the letter sent to Balakrishnan mentioned that justice Reghupathy was approached in the name of Raja.... It is more surprising that the former CJI is denying the fact.’’ It needs a probe, he added.
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