In this conversation, Radia is discussing the Justice Reghupathy case (where the Madras High Court judge alleged that a Union minister had tried to influence him, and Dayanidhi Maran immediately pointed fingers at A. Raja).
NR: Hi.
RKC: Hello, how are you?
NR: I’m still in Bombay, sorry, not been in touch. How are things, tumhare mantri ka naam aa raha hai, yahaan pe…
RKC: Kisme?
NR: Yeh, high court matter in Chennai.
RKC: Us se kya hoga, he had nothing to do with that.
NR: Nahin, apparently, jo naam media ko circulate hue hain na 9’o clock news ke liye… WohA. Raja, Azhagiri…
RKC: Hmm…
NR: To phir Azhagiri drop hua because unhone kaha ki Azhagiri nahin hai, to Raja ka naam sab jagah hai.
RKC: Hmm.
NR: This one also came off the air, Rajdeep (Sardesai) he also told me the same thing; NewsX also told me the same thing, everyone is taking his name. In the evening I met Shivnath (Thukral), also from NDTV, sabne yehi bola ki it’s Raja’s…then I spoke to Times of India, because (I was) talking on my gas story, so they said that the name that is being discussed…has been told to the law minister…is Raja.
RKC: Hmm…I don’t know, I didn’t speak to anybody.
NR: Just letting you (know)…that his…there are very many people who just spread his name and it’s not true you know, that’s why I just called you….
The Madras High Court matter also featured in a conversation with Ratan Tata on July 7, 2009…
Ratan Tata: …I guess the only concern I have is that I understand that Maran is going hammer and tongs for Raja. And I hope Raja doesn’t trip or slip or…
NR: No, he hasn’t, because the chief justice has issued a statement that no minister called the high court judge.
RT: Oh, really?
NR: The Chief Justice of India has issued that statement. So that is clarified. And in any case that did not happen and Maran is made to look a little bit of a fool.
RT: Okay.
NR: It was in any case, it was actually the president of the bar association who said, ‘I know the minister’, in an open court and the judge said don’t bring the cabinet minister’s influence in my court.
RT: Okay.
NR: Raja had not called up for that at all. That’s got clarified.
RT: Okay.
Related:
The former judge of the Madras High Court, who alleged he was threatened by A Raja — Justice Reghupathy has spoken out saying he is neither scared or confused. Justice Reghupathy on Saturday (December 18) rubbished the earlier reports which said that he feared powerful interests now that the scandal has gone public.
Justice Reghupathy once again reiterated his stand saying that the letter written to the Justice Gokhale which was eventually forwarded to Justice Balakrishnan did mention A Raja’s name.
He said, “I have never been scared or confused. I maintain my silence on this issue. All materials are available and I don’t need to say anything further. The name of the minister (Raja) is there in the order itself. No further materials are required now.”
The statement questions former Chief Justice Balakrishnan’s claim, even as he maintained that the letter sent to him did not mention any minister’s name.
http://www.timesnow.tv/Neither-scared-nor-confused-Justice-Reghupathy/articleshow/4360783.cms
From the media reports subsequent to the press release by Justice Gokhale, it appears that I suppressed certain facts to save somebody. I never wanted to publish any confidential letter received by me in my capacity as Chief Justice of India. But as the contents of the letter by the Chief Justice of India to the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, and also the letters written by the Chief Justice of Madras High Court to CJI have already been made public through that Press Release, with much reluctance I am constrained to quote from my personal file, the full text of the report dated 08th August, 2009, given by the then Chief Justice of Madras High Court to me so that the matter be clarified.
http://indialawyers.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/did-ex-cji-balakrishnan-protect-raja/
In an embarrassment to former CJI K G Balakrishnan, Supreme Court Judge H L Gokhale on Tuesday (December 14) contradicted his claim that he was not aware that it was former Union Telecom Minister A Raja, who had tried to influence a Madras High Court judge in a criminal case.
In a statement, Justice Gokhale, who was the chief justice of the Madras High Court at that time, said that in his letter to Justice Balakrishnan, the then CJI, he had clearly referred to the name of Raja.
Justice Gokhale’s statement totally contradicts Justice Balakrishnan’s claim that there was no mention of any Union Minister in the report sent by Justice Gokhale, then High Court Chief Justice, on Justice S Reghupathi episode.
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