Never tried to negotiate with judge: A Raja

Defending allegations that he tried to influence a Madras High Court judge on a 2009 case, former Telecom Minister A Raja on Tuesday said he is a ?law-abiding citizen?.

Adding to his woes in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, Raja got his name linked to another controversy on Tuesday as senior lawyer RK Chandramohan was suspended as chairman of Tamil Nadu Bar Council for allegedly trying to influence a Madras High Court judge in a 2009 case that involved his ?family friends?.

According to a high court order on Tuesday, Justice R Raghupathy said Chandramohan tried to influence him to grant anticipatory bail to his clients Dr Krishnamurthy and his son, who were wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for forging mark-sheets in MBBS examinations.

In his letter to the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan, Raghupathy said Chandramohan wanted him to talk to ?a Union Minister by name Raja? over the bail issue as that both the accused were his ?family friends?.

?I never asked any person, including Chandramohan, to speak or to negotiate with the judges for any case,? said Raja.

?I never called him (Chandramohan), I was not on the line. In fact, I was not even aware of it until I heard, for the first time through this judgement, that my name has been dragged into the issue.?

Asked if he knew Dr Krishnamurthy and his son, Raja said: ?I can?t dissociate myself from the society?I am a politician, I have my own friends, associates. But that does not mean that all cases are being influenced by me.?

The former Union minister said he never wants to interfere with the judiciary.

?I have full faith in judiciary. I never intend to interfere with the judiciary. As a lawyer, as a former minister, I know the independence of the judiciary as mentioned in the Constitution. I do not want to break the Constitution. I am a law-abiding citizen, whether I am a minister or not,? said Raja.

Asked why Raghupathy dragged his name in the case, Raja said: ?That is upto Justice Raghupathy?he is the one who can answer that.?

Meanwhile, Balakrishnan said Raghupathy never wrote to him.

?Raghupathy never wrote to me. I had sought a report from the chief justice of Madras High Court on the incident. He sent me a report,? said Balakrishnan.

Raja?s name was exposed in the MBBS controversy when a copy of Raghupathy?s letter, written in 2009, was circulated in the media on Tuesday.

Portions of the letter read: ?On 12/6/2009 at about 2PM during lunch while I was in the Chamber of the Madras HC, my office assistant informed me that Mr. Chandramohan, Chairman Bar council of TN, was waiting and seeking an appointment to meet me and immediately I allowed him to come in.

?To start with he discussed about the general subject on advocates and proceeding he said two persons who are father and son/accused in a criminal case are family friends of a union minister by name Raja and that the petition filed by them for anticipatory bail must be considered favourably.

?Simultaneously he handed over his mobile phone by saying that the Union minister is on the line to have a talk with me, right away I discouraged such conduct of Mr. Chandramohan and told him that the case would be disposed off in accordance with law if listed before me.”

On Nov 14, Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Raja had to step down as Telecom over the 2G scandal.

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report had held Raja ?personally responsible? for costing the national exchequer a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore through ?illogical? sale of 2G telecom spectrum in 2008.