Speculation rife over judge’s resignation

Ravinder Reddy, the fourth additional metropolitan sessions judge and the judge of NIA court, who had given verdict acquitting five accused in Mecca Masjid blast case, has gone on 15 days leave pending the decision on his resignation letter by the higher authorities.

Reddy created a stir in judicial and legal circles when within six hours of declaring the verdict he sent his resignation to the Acting Chief Justice of High Court Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and the Hyderabad Sessions judge citing personal reasons.

The timing of his resignations, on the day of such a crucial judgment and just two months before he was due to retire has set the tongues wagging and opened the flood gates of speculations and rumors.

Different quarters were coming up with various theories, most notable of them being the speculation that Reddy was under pressure over Masjid blast case.

Justice B Chandra Kumar, former judge of Hyderabad High Court said that it was unprecedented that a judge tendered his resignation soon after delivering a crucial judgment.

“If a judge delivers a verdict consciously he would not be shaken by any pressure. He would not quit from post unless and until he feels guilty about his verdict”, he said.

He said that in normal circumstances a sub ordinate judge resigns  from the post when he gets an assurance that inquiry will not be conducted against him for the charges of corruption if he resigns.

The other speculations was that the NIA judge was facing charges of corruption or he was planning to join politics.

Controversies were not new for Ravinder Reddy who is also the president of Telangana Judicial Officers Association. He had led an unprecedented procession of Telangana judges and judicial officers to Raj Bhavan on June 26, 2016 over the issue of provisional allotment of judicial officers between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. After he and ten others were suspended by the High Court over the agitation, judicial officers had gone on strike in the state. The HC however revoked the suspension later.