“I got a letter. It says how can I hear the case as I was a member of People's Union of Civil Liberty (PUCL),” Justice Reddy said while reading out the letter in the open court.
He said he was a member of PUCL in 1975-77 and the NGO has also filed an impleadment application in the case.
Advocate Atul Jha, appearing for Chhattisgarh government, said the application had been dismissed earlier and insisted that the judge should not rescuse himself from the case.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by sociologist Nandini Sundar, historian Ramchandra Guha, former bureaucrat E A S Sarma and others seeking a direction to the state government to refrain from allegedly supporting Salwa Judum.
On the insistence of all parties concerned, Justice Reddy agreed to hear the case.
Published 18 January 2011, 19:06 IST