Attorney General K K Venugopal on Monday declined consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and his principal advisor Ajeya Kallam for making allegations against a judge of the Supreme Court and some other judges of the state high court.
The top law officer was of the view that the "prima facie" conduct of the chief minister and his principal advisor was 'contumacious', but declined consent saying Reddy had sent the letter to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde who was seized of the matter.
Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay had written a letter to Venugopal seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Reddy and his advisor.
Upadhyay had said the letter by the Andhra Pradesh chief minister "scandalises" the authority of both the Supreme Court and the High Court and interferes with the judicial proceedings and the administration of justice.
In an unprecedented move, the chief minister had written to the CJI, alleging that the Andhra Pradesh high court was being used to "destabilise and topple my democratically elected government".
He had requested the CJI to look into the matter and consider initiating steps "as may be considered fit and proper to ensure that the state judiciary's neutrality is maintained".
The chief minister had alleged that the senior apex court judge had proximity to TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and that a "former judge of the honourable Supreme Court placed this fact on record".