Former union telecom minister A Raja is in trouble again. The Madras High Court confirmed on Tuesday that he was the minister who had approached another high court judge to influence him in a criminal case he was hearing.
Justice FM Ibrahim Kalifulla revealed that Raja was the minister who allegedly spoke to the high court judge R Raghupati asking for favours in a case involving tampering of marks in MBBS exams. Justice Raghupati himself had mentioned the incident but had refrained from naming the minister in his letter to the chief justice of India in October 2009.
After Khalifullah named the minister and observed that the minister had approached the high court judge through the Tamil Nadu Bar Council Chairman K Chandramohan, the High Court suspended the senior advocate.
Justice Raghupati had in his letter to the chief justice of India said that Chandramohan had met him during the lunch recess in his chambers and handed him his mobile phone saying that the minister was on the line and wanted to talk to him.
“Right away, I discouraged such conduct of Chandramohan and told him that the case would be disposed off in accordance with the law, if listed before me,” the judge said in his communication to the chief justice.
AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa had in July last year alleged that the minister was none other than the 2G Spectrum scam tainted Raja.
On Tuesday in the courtroom, Justce Khalifullah put on record that the union minister in question for threatening Justice Raghupati was none other than Raja who approached the judge through his lawyer Chandramohan.
-HT
