The very next day, the CJI had said that Ministers should refrain from contacting judges in matters pending in courts. “It is interference in the judiciary,” Balakrishnan had said.

Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily had said that the government wasn’t in a position to do anything in the issue till the judge named the minister. While the judge didn’t make public the name of the minister, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa claimed on Thursday that it was Union Communications Minister A Raja who had “threatened” the judge. The AIADMK chief had said: “Though the judge refrained from naming the Union Minister, it does not require any super-human intelligence to conclude that it was none other than A Raja, who was also involved in telecom scam.”

A public interest litigation (PIL) has also been filed in the Madras High Court, seeking a direction to the Prime Minister to take appropriate action against the minister by removing him from the Cabinet.