Hyderabad: The choice of Justice (retired) B. Sudershan Reddy as the INDIA bloc candidate for the vice-presidential election can be seen as a recognition for his long association with landmark judgments upholding principles of the Constitution and social justice, wherein he always stood for democratic values.

The 79-year-old Justice Reddy, an eminent jurist, was appointed as a permanent  judge of the high court in combined Andhra Pradesh on May 2, 1995, and promoted as the Chief Justice of Gauhati high court in 2005. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court in 2007 and served on its bench till 2011.

After his retirement in 2011, he was appointed as the first Lokayukta of Goa in 2013. However, he quit the post for personal reasons within seven months of the appointment.

Justice Reddy belongs to the rare breed of jurists who saw the Constitution as a document providing a blueprint for the upliftment of India's poorest and most deprived, and how the State should use its powers best to attain that goal.

His judgements mark a sharp departure from pedantic legalism towards a transformative constitutionalism, according to MLC and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) president M. Kodandaram.

Influenced by socialist thinkers including Lohia

Born on July 8, 1946, in an agricultural family in Akula Mylaram village of Ranga Reddy district, Justice Reddy did his primary education in the neighbouring villages as there was no school in his native village.

He graduated in Arts and Law from Osmania University in Hyderabad and enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in 1971.

He practiced in writ and civil matters in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and was Government Pleader in the High Court in 1988-90. He also worked as an additional standing counsel for the Union Government for a short period in 1990.

The Osmania University utilised his services as its Legal Advisor and Standing Counsel from 1992 till Justice Reddy's elevation as the high court judge.

He also served as secretary and president of the Andhra Pradesh high court advocates association before his appointment as high court judge.

Justice Reddy came under the influence of socialist thinkers, more particularly Rammanohar Lohia, at a very early stage in his life. He actively participated in the total revolution movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan during the Emergency.

Apart from being one of the most articulate and erudite judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Reddy was also one of those exceptional judges whose judgements are replete with references to works on regulatory theory, political science, economics, international trade and, of course, twentieth century classic literature.

The erudition and depth of research in his judgments are typical of him as a well read and thoughtful intellectual.

Justice Reddy maintained a judicial demeanor which is always with equanimity. He listened patiently and attentively, interjecting purposefully, said Kodandaram.

He has not only made immense contributions to law but also stirred serious debate about where the Indian polity is heading and where it should go.

During his tenure in the high courts as well as the Supreme Court, Justice Reddy rendered several landmark judgements on various branches of law, in particular on issues of criminal jurisprudence, Constitution, taxation, service law and human rights.

'The whole idea of distributive justice is to empower the weaker sections of the society'

In one of his judgements, Justice Reddy, while dealing with the question as to whether the assignees of government land are entitled to payment of compensation equivalent to full market value of the land and other benefits on par with other land holders in the event of resumption for a public purpose, said "in the matter of distribution of material resources of the community to the vulnerable sections of the society by the State in furtherance of its constitutional obligations, no argument can be heard from the State contending that the recipient of the benefit may either accept with the restrictions or not to accept the benefit at all. The whole idea of distributive justice is to empower the weaker sections of the society and to provide them their share of cake in the material resources of the community of which they were deprived from times immemorial for no fault of theirs."

"Having resolved to extend the benefits as a welfare measure, no unconstitutional condition can be imposed depriving the recipients of the benefits of their legitimate right to get compensation in case of taking over the benefit even for a valid public purpose. The recipients cannot be at the mercy of the State forever".

In yet another important judgement dealing with the power of the government to deal with the public property, Justice Reddy observed that "there is nothing like a government property. It is a public property of which the government as a day is only a trustee. The public properties cannot be parted away by the government in its discretion as it pleases".

As a Supreme Court judge, in his landmark judgment on Salwa Judum, which was floated in Chhattisgarh as an anti-Maoist force, Justice Reddy highlighted the importance of human rights and declared the appointment of tribal youth as special police officers by the Chhattisgarh government as illegal and unconstitutional .

His judgement was widely hailed as a landmark restatement of constitutional values, demonstrating Justice Reddy's enormous moral strength to uphold social justice.

In another significant judgement, he criticised the Union government for its slackness in probing black money cases. He observed "from mining mafias to political operators who, all too willingly, bend policies of the State to suit particular individuals or groups in the social and economic sphere, the raison d'etre for weakening the capacities and intent to enforce the laws is the lure of lucre. Even as the state provides violent support to those who benefit from such predatory capitalism, often violating the human rights of its citizens, particularly its poor, the market begin to function like a bureaucratic machine dominated by big business and the State begins to function like the market where everything is available for sale at a price".

Headed panel on caste survey in Telangana

Expressing his strong reservations about the government's efforts to deal with the black money issue, Justice Reddy had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate unaccounted money unlawfully kept in bank accounts abroad.

While dealing with a dispute between Ambani brothers concerning the supply of gas from KG basin, he raised a question in Supreme Court as to whose gas it is. He stated that "a small portion of our population, over the past two decades has been chanting incessantly for increased privatisation of the material resources of the community, and some of them even doubt whether the goals of equality and social justice are capable of being addressed directly".

Justice Reddy had become the obvious choice as the head of an additional bench announced by then Supreme Court Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia to hear cases related to environment and mining.

He participated in various national and international conferences and delivered keynote addresses on interconnectivity between law, economic and social sciences.

He was a strong votary of the agitation for a separate Telangana prior to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. He provided inputs to the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Bill, 2014. He was also the chairman of a committee constituted by Telangana government to analyse the caste survey in the state and recommended that the 50% ceiling on reservation should be removed to increasse participation of marginalised sections in education, employment and politics.

The other members of the panel had included noted economists Sukhdeo Thorat and Thomas Pickety, among others.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.