Wrote to ex-CJI about Raja, says SC judge

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan was aware that scam-tainted A Raja tried to influence a Madras High Court judge on a 2009 case, said Supreme Court judge HL Gokhale on Tuesday.

Adding to his woes in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, Raja got his name linked to another controversy on Dec 7 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, 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?.

However Balakrishnan had claimed that 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,? Balakrishnan had said.

On Tuesday, Gokhale, then High Court Chief Justice, said in a press statement: “The former CJI has stated in his press conference that in my letter I did not mention the name of any Union Minister having talked to Justice Raghupathy over phone to influence him.

?With respect to this statement I may point out that Justice Raghupathy’s letter was already with him and in the second paragraph thereof Justice Raghupathy had specifically mentioned the name of Raja.” “I had no personal knowledge about the incident and observations in my reply wherein are in conformity with the contents of Justice Raghupathy’s,” Gokhale said.

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 Dec 7.

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.