Former Chief Justice of Patna High Court L Narasimha Reddy withdrew from the one-man Commission of Inquiry established by the Telangana government to investigate alleged irregularities in the power sector during former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s tenure.
The Apex Court, which was hearing Rao’s plea alleging bias against the head of the inquiry panel, was informed by Justice (retd) Reddy’s counsel that he no longer wished to be part of the commission.
A bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged the submission and allowed the Congress-led state government to appoint a new head for the Commission of Inquiry.
The Court also noted the submissions from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders regarding the matter. Rao’s counsel argued that the former judge had held a press conference making observations on the merits of the charges against K Chandrasekhar Rao without conducting an inquiry.
The Apex Court dismissed Rao’s plea, and in a blow to him, the Telangana High Court had previously dismissed his writ petition on July 1. Rao’s petition had sought to declare the constitution of the Commission of Inquiry, which was set up to review decisions related to power procurement and construction of thermal power plants, as illegal. Rao also sought to declare Justice (retd) L Narasimha Reddy’s continuation as the commission head as illegal.
