Former HC Judge Withdraws From Panel Investigating KCR's 'Power Sector Irregularities'

The counsel for Justice (retd) Narasimha Reddy informed the Supreme Court that he no longer wished to be part of the commission.

Earlier, the Supreme Court disposed of the plea of the former Telangana chief minister.

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Former Chief Justice of the 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 the tenure of ex-chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, on Tuesday. The withdrawal came after a plea was filed by the former Telangana chief minister, alleging bias against the head of the inquiry panel. 

The counsel for Justice (retd) Reddy informed the Supreme Court that he no longer wished to be part of the commission. Consequently, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, noted the submission and granted permission to the Congress-led state government to replace Justice (retd) Reddy in the Commission of Inquiry, according to a report on PTI.

The Supreme Court also took into account the submissions made by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader regarding the matter. Rao's counsel highlighted that the former judge had addressed a press conference making specific observations on the merits of the charges against K Chandrasekhar Rao without conducting any inquiry.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court disposed of the plea of the former Telangana chief minister. The Telangana High Court had previously dismissed a writ petition filed by Rao on July 1, which sought to declare the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry as illegal. The writ petition contested the Telangana government's decision to form the commission to investigate alleged irregularities in the power sector during the BRS rule, as per the report.

In his plea, the former chief minister sought to invalidate the Telangana government's order constituting the Commission of Inquiry. 

Additionally, Rao, also known as KCR, requested that the continuation of Justice (retd) L Narasimha Reddy as the head of the commission be declared illegal.