With the High Court clearing the charges against the accused in the infamous Tsundur Case, the aggrieved Party has now decided to approach the Supreme Court.
That is understandable, but what is totally unacceptable is their demand calling for the sacking of the High Court Judge, M Narasimha Reddy.
In 1991, in Tsundur village of Guntur District, people from the Reddy community with tacit support from the Telagas, Brahmins and Vyshyas of the village butchered to death 8 members of the Mala community.
The dead bodies were put into gunny bags and thrown into an irrigation canal in the village. This was allegedly in retaliation to the murder of three Reddys’ by the Mala community.
Violence also broke out during the burial and families of the Reddys’, Brahmins, Telagas and Vaishyas were targeted. A 68 year old Reddy person died in the violence. A special court was set up in Tsundur which delivered its verdict. The High Court overruled the verdict of the Tsundur Special Court and acquitted all the accused for the following reasons:
- There was no FIR filed on the incident
- The Tsundur Court which termed the evidence inadmissible in the case of a few used the same evidence to convict others.
- Prosecution did not do a proper job of presenting the incidents
- There were highly debatable statements that a lame man had chased and hacked to death one of the Malas etc.
When the prosecutors of the High Court were asked during the time of the trial whether they were comfortable with the fact that one of the judges was a Reddy, they said that they had absolute confidence in him. Halfway through the case, they said they did not.
The Supreme Court scolded them for changing their stance midway through the case and ordered that the case be completed. Now, that the High Court has delivered its verdict, there is a call for sacking the Judge, who is a man of impeccable honesty and credentials. Clearly, such vested interests need not be encouraged and the respect of the judiciary ought to be maintained at any cost.
