SC boosts Andhra woman lawyer bid to become judge

The Supreme Court on Monday gave a fresh lease of life to the hopes of an Andhra Pradesh woman advocate, K Vijaya Lakshmi, when it quashed her disqualification to judicial service.

Though she had passed the AP judicial service examination held in 2007 for appointment of civil judges, she was found inellgible based on a police report. In the report it was alleged that she had "close links" with the banned CPI(Maoist) and that her husband had pleaded for bail of the party's members.

A Bench of Justices A K Patnaik and H L Gokhale noted that she could not be turned back after her selection in the judicial service examination alleging political activities when there was nothing except for a police report to dub her as a member of the banned outfit.

The court held that to deny public employment to a candidate solely on the basis of a police report on political affinity would tantamount to offending the fundamental rights unless such links were likely to affect the integrity and efficiency or if there was clear materials to suggest involvement in subversive or violent activities of a banned organisation.

"In the present case, there is no material on record to show that the appellant has engaged in any subversive or violent activities," the Bench noted. The court set aside the HC order and asked the state government to place before the HC the entire police report for a fresh consideration on the administrative side.

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