Former Madras High Court judge Justice Chandru, who has been in the thick of controversy after his recent comments against the Andhra Pradesh judiciary and in support of the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government, brushed aside the criticism against him.
Chandru reacted strongly to the comments made by Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu that the former had made controversial comments against the judiciary only because he was expecting posts after his retirement.
In a reply to the message given by AP Civil Liberties Association which brought to his notice the alleged comments made by Naidu and the reports doing rounds in a section of media, Justice Chandru said: “Thanks for your information, but don’t believe such trash.”
He said after his retirement from service nine years ago, he had not accepted any posts from any government.
On the reports in a section of media that he was associated with Ms Row and Reddy legal firm of former Union minister Mohan Kumaramangalam, Justice Chandru said Kumaramangalam had left the firm in ‘60s with certain differences of opinion.
“Kumaramangalam joined the Congress party in 1968 when I was in CPI (M). This only shows how they can create fiction and spread,” he pointed out.
In fact, the Andhra Pradesh high court, too, found fault with Justice Chandru’s comments against judiciary.
Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, without taking his name, 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.
“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.
Another judge Justice B Devanand felt that if Justice Chandru had any objection against anyone criticising that person was okay, but commenting on the Andhra Pradesh High Court as a whole was not proper.
“Justice Chandru doesn’t deserve respect anymore,” he said.
He objected to the comment that the State government is fighting against the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
“Justice Chandru seems to have overlooked the fact that the AP High Court has been issuing orders to protect the rights of the citizens. The comments of the former judge are like comments during a film publicity event. How is it wrong to seek a CBI investigation into the comments made against the judge,” Justice Devanand said.
