Who is transferred TS HC judge Abhishek Reddy, much loved by his colleagues?

Hyderabad: On 17 November, Telangana High Court advocates launched an indefinite protest against the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation to transfer Telangana HC judge Justice A. Abhishek Reddy to Patna High Court. They said that they would abstain from work until the recommendation is revoked.

Finally, it required the intervention of Chief Justice of India D.Y Chandrachud who assured the protesting advocates that the matter would be looked into. The advocates then resumed work. Who is Justice A. Abhishek Reddy? What is his popular judgment? How do his colleagues remember him?

From the Bar to the Bench

Justice Abhishek Reddy is the son of advocate A. Pulla Reddy and Dr. A. Shashirekha Reddy. He is from Lingampally village in Ranga Reddy district.

Justice Reddy went to St. Pauls High School in Hyderguda and completed his intermediate from Little Flower Junior College, Uppal. After graduating in Arts from Hyderabad's Nizam College, he obtained a law degree from the University College of Law, Osmania University. In 1990, he enrolled as an advocate in the erstwhile Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad.

After enrolment, he joined his father A. Pulla Reddy, who was one of the senior-most members of the Bar, practicing since 1952. Justice Abhishek Reddy practiced various branches of law before various tribunals, forums, revenue authorities, and courts, including Ranga Reddy District Court, Hyderabad City Civil Court, and the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. He handled cases mainly involving constitutional, arbitration, administration, civil, family, revenue, land acquisition, and various other branches of law.

Later, he completed his LL.M. from Washington College of Law under The American University in Washington, D.C. in 1993 after which he resumed his practice.

THCAA protest against transfer of Justice Abhishek Reddy

Justice Reddy was appointed as government pleader-cum-public prosecutor in the Special Court under AP Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act in 2004 and worked as a government pleader for higher and technical education in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh from 2007 to 2009. He was the standing counsel for many institutions, including Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad, Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU), Telangana Fee Regulatory Committee (TFRC), and various other organisations in the High Court. He has also appeared on behalf of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE), Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education, Pondicherry Urban Development Agency (PUDA), Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and State Board of Technical Education and Training (SBTET) in the High Court for the state of Telangana at Hyderabad.

In 2019, he was elevated to the Bench as a permanent judge of the Telangana High Court.

Important judgement

Justice Abhishek Reddy was part of the recent important judgement with regard to BJP MLA Raja Singh's case. He was part of the Bench that struck down the Preventive Detention Act invoked against Raja Singh, following which he was released from jail. A Bench comprising of Justice Reddy and J. Sridevi said this was not a case fit for preventive detention. However, the Bench directed the MLA not to make any inflammatory speeches in the future and not to do anything that disturbs communal harmony.

The High Court Bench was hearing a plea filed by the MLA's wife Usha Bai, who had filed a habeas corpus and had questioned the PD Act.

A straight, polite, quick judge

"I have appeared before him (his Division Bench) in a couple of cases. He is very polite and courteous," said Telangana HC advocate Karam Komireddy.

Mr. Komireddy said Justice Reddy was known for his speedy disposal of cases. "The disposal rate is very high. Not just with the disposal of cases, he also hears a lot of cases on a daily basis. He hears at least over 120 cases a day which also tells us how quick his grasping ability is," added the advocate.

Senior counsel L. Ravichander said he had been on the opposite side of Justice Reddy on multiple instances but he has always been very polite. "Even as a Division Bench judge, he is very polite to the advocates. Also, he is straightforward and that is the reason why he has been selected by the Collegium," said Mr. Ravichander.

The advocate called the transfer of Justice Abhishek Reddy arbitrary. "The High Court judges are not under the administrative control of the Supreme Court. There are no guidelines followed in this transfer. It is an absolutely opaque system. Can just three-five people sit and decide? This puts the credibility of the highest officials of the judiciary in doubt," he said.