0

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has told CNN-IBN no Union Minister approached a Madras High Court judge and suspects it was a lawyer who tried to influence a case.

Justice R Regupathy, on June 29, created a storm when he told his court that a Union Minister tried to influence him to grant anticipatory bails to a medical student and his doctor father who are accused in a mark-sheet tampering case.

Balakrishnan told CNN-IBN on Sunday he had a phone conversation with Justice Regupathy and clarified matters with him. Reghupathy has also reportedly clarified the matter with Madras High Court Chief Justice, Hemant Laxman Gokhale.

AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa has alleged it was Union IT and Communications Minister A Raja who called Regupathi. Raja has rejected the allegation, calling it baseless and politically motivated.

Balakrishnan told CNN-IBN no minister was involved in the matter and Regupathi blamed a lawyer instead. “Reghupathy wanted an unconditional apology from the lawyer. Reghupathy had also said he would write to the Prime Minister on the pressure exerted on him,” said Balakrishnan.

Balakrishnan, in an interview to CNN-IBN last week, supported Reghupathy for making the announcement but insisted the political established rarely intervened in judicial matters.

“The judge has done the correct thing. If he feels someone is trying to influence him or he refuses himself from the case,” said Balakrishnan. “Nobody should interfere with the judicial system.”

He was asked if politicians were trying to influence the judiciary. “This is not a common thing--it's a rarest of rare case,” he replied.

More on: Justice R Regupathy, K G Balakrishnan, Supreme Court, Madras High Court