CM's recommendation for Bali, an act of subversion; Cong

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 24 (UNI) Hitting out at Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan for writing a letter recommending the appointment of Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, V K Bali, who retired yesterday, as a judge of the Supreme Court, All India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Kerala Veerappa Moily today said ''it is a gross indifference to the judiciary''.

''The Chief Minister has absolutely lost discretion. It is an act subverting the judiciary also,'' Mr Moily told reporters here.

Moreover, aberrations without discretion would reflect on the intellectual psyche of the state, he added.

''No Chief Minister will ever write a letter to the President with such a recommendation. There is a method for all this and it is a gross indifference to the judiciary,'' he said.

Mr Justice Bali had hit the headlines after the Left parties and its student wings came out against some of his judgements, which included lifting of a ban on soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi that the Left government had imposed. Another was his declaring as void several crucial provisions in the Kerala Self-financing Professional Colleges law, which was passed by the State Assembly.

He had also ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into a contract given to the Canadian firm SNC Lavalin a decade ago to which CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan was a party.

Angry Left activists and students held protest marches yesterday condemning Mr Justice Bali and many of his verdicts. Even as the Left was protesting against him and his "controversial" judgements, reports came out that Mr Achuthanandan had sent a letter of recommendation for appointment of Mr Justice Bali as a Supreme Court judge.

Mr Moily was here to have discussions on organisational restructuring of the state party unit.

UNI