Who is Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, opposition’s Vice Presidential candidate?
New Delhi: The INDIA opposition bloc has announced Justice (Retd.) B. Sudershan Reddy, former Supreme Court judge and Goa’s first Lokayukta, as its candidate for the Vice Presidential election scheduled on September 9. He will contest against NDA nominee and Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan.
Early life and education
Justice Bommagani Sudershan Reddy was born on July 8, 1946, in Akula Mylaram village, then Ibrahimpatnam Taluq (now Kandukur Mandal) of Ranga Reddy district, Andhra Pradesh, into an agricultural family. He studied in Hyderabad and obtained his LL.B. degree from Osmania University in 1971, the same year he enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh.
Early legal career
He began his practice under the guidance of K. Pratap Reddy, Senior Advocate of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, handling civil and constitutional matters. On August 8, 1988, he was appointed Government Pleader in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, in charge of the Revenue Department, serving until January 1990. He later briefly served as Additional Standing Counsel for the Central Government.
In addition to his legal practice, Justice Reddy also worked as Secretary and Correspondent of A.V. Education Society and served as Legal Advisor and Standing Counsel for Osmania University from January 1993. In 1993-94, he was elected President of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Advocates’ Association.
Judicial career
Justice Reddy was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on May 2, 1995, and confirmed as a permanent judge later that year. His merit and seniority led to his appointment as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on December 5, 2005.
On January 12, 2007, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India, where he served until his retirement on July 8, 2011.
Post-retirement role
In March 2013, he was appointed as the first Lokayukta of Goa, a position created to investigate corruption in public offices. However, he resigned in October 2013, citing personal reasons and concerns over institutional limitations.
Landmark judgments
Justice Reddy’s tenure in the Supreme Court is noted for several important rulings:
Black Money Case (2011): Ordered the creation of a Special Investigation Team to probe black money stashed abroad, strongly criticizing government inaction.
Salwa Judum Case (2011): Declared the Chhattisgarh government’s use of armed tribal youth as “Special Police Officers” unconstitutional, terming it a violation of fundamental rights.
Ambani Gas Dispute (2010): Part of the Constitution Bench that ruled natural gas is a national asset under government control, not private agreements.
Public image
Throughout his judicial and professional career, Justice Reddy has been regarded as an independent-minded jurist, known for his integrity, constitutional vision, and emphasis on accountability in governance. His nomination is seen as the opposition’s attempt to project credibility and constitutional propriety in the Vice Presidential contest.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
