The Andhra Pradesh High Court, presided over by Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy and Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao, has expressed its displeasure over derogatory comments made against judges on various social media platforms. The court has directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to identify the actual owners of the accounts associated with these comments.
The contempt motion was initiated by the Advocate General and Senior Counsel Subrahmanyam Sriram. The motion was based on complaints about derogatory remarks made against Judge B. Satya Venkata Himabindu, ACB cum Additional District Judge, Vijayawada, and Justices K Suresh Reddy and K Sreenivasa Reddy of the High Court.
Judge Himabindu had previously issued a remand order for Naidu to the Central Jail. Justice K. Sreenivasa Reddy had dismissed a petition to quash the FIR against Naidu in the Skill Development Scam. Additionally, an anticipatory bail was filed before Justice K. Suresh Reddy by Naidu, related to another scam.
The petition highlighted:
“The statements made in the aforesaid media interactions and television interviews as well as the posts in various social media scandalise the court as also to tends to lower dignity of the judiciary in the eyes of the public… These comments have the effect of lowering the authority of the Court while scandalizing the justice delivery system.”
The contempt petition was accompanied by a significant amount of evidence, showcasing derogatory remarks against the judges on platforms like Youtube, Facebook, “X” (formerly Twitter), and various news channels.
There were allegations against sitting High Court judges, suggesting ulterior motives behind their orders. Slogans such as
“Victims of Reddy Raj in Judiciary”
were highlighted. The court emphasized that such allegations, which scandalize the court’s operations, cannot be tolerated.
Furthermore, death threats were issued against Judge Himabindu, alleging her order in the Naidu case was influenced by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Suspended Judicial Magistrate Ramakrishna reportedly gave an interview suggesting that Judge Himabindu’s orders were influenced.
The court was also informed about a complaint filed concerning some of the social media posts.
The motion stated,
“since it appears to be a calibrated and coordinated process of scandalising the judiciary, I am constrained to move this motion to secure the attention of the Hon’ble Court for appropriate action.”
The Advocate General drew parallels with a similar pending case and requested the court to issue similar directives. The matter is scheduled for further hearing next month.
