Justice R. Raghunandan Rao on November 8 (Wednesday) recused himself from hearing the petition filed by YSR Congress Party Member of Parliament K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju for a court-monitored inquiry into the “illegal decisions and corrupt activities” of the Andhra Pradesh government.
The petition was listed before a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and comprising Justice Raghunandan Rao, who opted out of the hearing, saying that some parties to the PIL were his clients earlier.
The Chief Justice then said he would constitute a new Bench to take up the matter on a later date.
Advocate-General S. Sriram represented the State, while senior advocate Unnam Muralidhar Rao appeared for the petitioner.
In his petition, Mr. Raju insisted that the inquiry was essential to unravel the corruption and embezzlement of public money in favour of some individuals and several private companies involved in various projects/schemes.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRCP Rajya Saba member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, Government Adviser Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy were among the respondents.
