Skip to main content

Alleging Dalit atrocity, top advocate Prashan Bhushan seeks Supreme Court CJ intervention against Andhra judge

Prashan Bhushan
By Our Representative
Senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, convenor, Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), has created a flutter in India's top judicial echelons by charging an Andhra Pradesh High Court judge of allegedly committing atrocities against members of the Dalit community.
Bhushan has made the allegation in a letter to chief justice of India TS Thakur, which he had written on August 30, 2016. The letter was made public by Bhushan on Tuesday evening. While Bhushan says that he was releasing the letter because no action has been taken so far, he does not say why India's chief justice, if at all, did not act.
The most serious charge leveled by Bhushan concerns a case of how the dying declaration made by the servant of the brother of the judge was sought to be removed from the records. In this declaration, the servant had disclosed the entire story of how he was doused with kerosine and set on fire for not agreeing to sign on a blank paper.
The dying declaration, says Bhushan, was handed over by the Duty Medical Officer, Government Area Hospital, Rayachoty, to the then magistrate, Rama Krishna, Rayachoty, Kadappa District. Krishna belongs to the Dalit community.
Earlier, on August 10, 2016, eight Members of Parliament (MPs) had written a similar letter to the Chief Justice of India detailing alleged “atrocities” against Krishna. Kadappa district is the native place of the High Court judge, whose brother is the additional public prosecutor at Rayachoti courts.
Asking Thakur to initiate In House proceedings against the Andhra Pradesh high court judge after fully examining the case, Bhushan says, such judges “undermine popular confidence in the administration of justice.”
Attaching the copy of the dying declaration and other documents, some of them obtained through the right to information (RTI) channel, Bhushan says, when Krishna refused to accede to the demand to remove the dying declaration, “an altercation occurred” between the judge and the Krishna.
Krishna, says Bhushan, has alleged that during the altercation, the judge “kicked him with his shoes and abused his caste.” While Krishna lodged a police complaint, the police refused to lodge an FIR against the judge.
This made Krishna go to the High Court Vigilance Registrar and gave a written complaint, stating and naming various officers of court at Rayachoty, who are allgedly performing “illegal” acts, misplacing court records and making files disappear. Yet, “no action was taken by the High Court on the said complaint”, says Bhushan.
Krishna, says Bhushan, filed another complaint with the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, after which an affidavit was sent to the chief justice of India seeking their intervention.
Meanwhile, Krishna was transferred to Chintapalli, Vishakapatnam district, and thereafter, based on an anonymous complaint of corruption, was placed under suspension, says Bhushan.
He further says, the High Court in its inquiry report decided to drop the proceeding and also to revoke the suspension order and reinstate him into service, the revocation order was “never implemented” and the “suspension order with fresh charges of misconduct was issued” against Krishna.
Bhushan in his letter also refers to a local NGO Gadikot Dalitha Nyayaporata Committee, coming up with a pamphlet enumerating various instances of atrocity against the Dalit community by the family of the High Court judge in Rayachoty.
Bhushan quotes the pamphlet as alleging that the judge's brother has taken over land belonging to the Dalit community and barred the entrance to the land with a big iron gate so the real owners of the land do not have access to it.

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.

British companies export 'deadly' asbestos to India, other countries from offshore offices

Inside a UK asbestos factory in 1994 before the mineral was banned By Rajiv Shah “The Sunday Times”, which forms part of the powerful British daily, “The Times”, has raised the alarm that though the “deadly” asbestos is banned in Britain, companies registered in United Kingdom, and operating from other countries, “are involved in shipping it to developing nations”, especially India. India, Brazil, Russia and China account for almost 80% of the asbestos consumed globally every year, it adds.