The resignation of NIA special court judge Ravinder Reddy, who delivered verdict in Mecca Masjid Blast case, has been rejected by High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He has been asked to attend to his duties immediately, news agency ANI reported quoting sources.
On Monday, the judge had submitted his resignation hours after acquitting Hindutva preacher Swami Aseemanand and four others in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, citing 'lack of evidence'.
A powerful blast, triggered by remote control, had ripped through the over four centuries-old mosque here during an assembly of devotees on May 18, 2007 when they had gathered for Friday prayers, killing nine people and wounding 58.
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His surprise resignation comes amid an ongoing inquiry by the High Court on a complaint that he showed “undue haste” in granting anticipatory bail to an accused in a land dispute case, reported The Indian Express.
In a complaint filed against Judge Reddy, the litigant reportedly argued he went against 'settled practise" to issue bail to an accused whose five previous attempts at obtaining anticipatory bail from various courts had failed. The complainant wanted “a thorough inquiry to be conducted to know the corrupt practices” of the judge, the report said.
The judge allegedly passed the orders on bail plea the same day the case was heard. The litigant argued that the judge was 'eager and highly interested to dispose it (case) off,' the report added.
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Speculation is also rife in the judicial circles in Hyderabad that Reddy might have put in his papers to protest allotment of judges from Andhra Pradesh to the subordinate courts in Telangana, reported PTI.
The Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge had put in his papers to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge citing "personal reasons" for his abrupt decision, which was termed as "intriguing" by Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Reddy had reportedly invited the wrath of the high court in 2016 when he participated in a protest for setting up a separate high court for Telangana and against the posting of judges from Andhra Pradesh to subordinate courts in the new state.
"He was among the 11 subordinate court judges who were suspended by the Hyderabad High Court in June 2016 for protesting appointment of the judges who hail from Andhra Pradesh to the courts in Telangana and over the demand for setting up a separate high court for Telangana," a source in the Telangana Federation of Bar Association said.
The Hyderabad High Court -- which is common for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana -- had in June 2016 suspended the 11 judges on disciplinary grounds for participating in the agitation. Lawyers and judicial employees from Telangana had also participated in the agitation. The suspension was, however, revoked the next month.
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(Inputs from agencies)
