New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (September 20) accepted the apology by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and closed the proceedings over his statements over grant of bail by the apex court to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in excise policy cases.
Bench took note of affidavit filed by Reddy tendering apology to court
A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan took note of an affidavit filed by Reddy tendering apology to the court and said that it did not wish to proceed further on the issue.
“Though we do not wish to proceed further in the matter, we may only put on caution all the constitutional functionaries – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary – to discharge their constitutional duties in the spheres earmarked for them by the Constitution.” the apex court bench said.
Right to fair criticism of judgement is welcome but one should not transgress limits: Apex court
The bench further said that one should be careful enough while making comments about orders passed by courts and added that the right to fair criticism of judgement is welcome but one should not transgress limits.
The apex court, which was hearing a plea filed by BRS MLA Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy and three others seeking transfer of the trial in the 2015 cash-for-vote case, involving Reddy and others, from Telangana to Bhopal, refused to transfer the trial and directed the Telangana Chief Minister not to interfere in any way with the functioning of prosecution in the case. The bench also ordered that the Director General of the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) would not report to Reddy with regard to the prosecution of the case.
Apex court earlier expressed its strong displeasure on Reddy’s reported statement
The bench had earlier, while hearing the matter, had expressed its strong displeasure on Reddy’s reported statement about a “deal” between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for securing bail for Kavitha.
“It is a fact that BRS worked for the victory of the BJP in the 2024 LS (Lok Sabha) polls. There is also talk that Kavitha got bail because of the deal between BRS and BJP,” Reddy reportedly said.
After the bench expressed its strong displeasure on Reddy’s statement, he had later written on social media X expressing “unconditional regret” for his alleged statements, saying that remarks attributed to him have been taken out of context.