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The Hindu
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Justice B. Sudershan Reddy: from the Bench to Vice-Presidential nominee
Former Supreme Court judge Justice B. Sudershan Reddy has been named the joint Opposition (INDIA bloc) candidate for the upcoming Vice-Presidential election. A retired jurist with a decades-long career on the Bench, Justice Reddy will be the consensus choice of opposition parties to take on the ruling coalition's nominee for the post. He has been fielded against the NDA's pick, Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu. The Vice-Presidential election, prompted by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar last month, is scheduled for September 9, with the filing of nominations closing on August 21. Also Read: Who elects India's Vice-President: electors, process, and numbers at a glance Legal career and judicial service Born on July 8, 1946, into a farmer's family in a village of Rangareddy district (in present-day Telangana), B. Sudershan Reddy pursued law at Osmania University in Hyderabad. He completed his Bachelor of Laws in 1971 and was enrolled with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in December that year. He began his legal practice in Hyderabad, focusing on writ petitions and civil matters before the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Justice Reddy apprenticed under noted advocate K. Pratap Reddy and soon took on public legal roles, serving as a Government Pleader in the High Court from 1988 to 1990, and briefly as an Additional Standing Counsel for the central government in 1990. He also acted as the legal adviser and standing counsel for Osmania University during this period, building a reputation for diligence in public law cases. Justice Reddy's judicial career began in the mid-1990s. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on May 2, 1995, joining the Bench after over two decades in practice. After a decade of service in the State judiciary, he was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in December 2005. His rise continued with an appointment to the Supreme Court of India on January 12, 2007. Justice Reddy served with distinction until retiring upon reaching the mandatory age on July 8, 2011. After retiring from the apex court, Justice Reddy continued to serve in public roles. In March 2013, he was appointed as the first Lokayukta of Goa, the anti-corruption ombudsman for that State. However, he resigned from the Lokayukta position within seven months, in September 2013, citing personal reasons. He has since stayed active in legal and civic affairs. Notably, Justice Reddy is on the Board of Trustees of the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Hyderabad, contributing his experience to promote alternative dispute resolution. He headed an 11-member Independent Expert Working Group that had analysed and interpreted the data collected during the Socio, Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste Survey 2024 (SEEEPC survey) conducted by the Telangana government. The report formed the basis for the government's pitch for 42% quota for Backward Classes (BC) in local bodies polls. Nomination for Vice-President On August 19, 2025, Opposition leaders gathered in New Delhi to announce Justice Reddy as their joint candidate for the Vice-Presidential election. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge made the announcement, calling the upcoming contest 'an ideological battle' and underscoring that all parties in the diverse INDIA alliance had agreed on his name unanimously. Leaders from across the bloc, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Left parties, and the Aam Aadmi Party, extended full support to Reddy's nomination. Also Read: 'Single-party rule not good for democracy' Mr. Kharge praised him as 'one of India's most distinguished and progressive jurists' with a long and eminent legal career. He noted that Justice Reddy has been a consistent and courageous champion of social, economic and political justice, often ruling in favor of the underprivileged and staunchly protecting fundamental rights.
The Hindu
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Opposition's VP nominee Justice Sudershan Reddy headed expert panel on Telangana's caste survey
INDIA Bloc's candidate for the upcoming Vice-President elections, retired Supreme Court Judge Balakrishna Sudershan Reddy, eminent legal luminary, headed an 11-member Independent Expert Working Group that had analysed and interpreted the data collected during the Socio, Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste Survey 2024 (SEEEPC survey) conducted by the Telangana government. Telangana Congress leaders surprised too An All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader from Telangana said the contribution of Justice Reddy in vetting the survey had brought him into close contact with the Congress leadership in the Centre. A top Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) leader told The Hindu that the role of Justice Reddy in submitting its recommendations of the Expert Group coupled with his roots in South India had worked in his favour as the Vice-President candidate. 'The choice is surprising to the Telangana Congress leaders also,' the leader mentioned. The State government led by A. Revanth Reddy had successfully completed the socio-economic and caste survey launched in November 2024 and completed it in a record time to gather detailed data on caste, education, employment, income and political engagement and made it public in February 2025. The report formed the basis for the government's pitch for 42% quota for Backward Classes (BC) in local bodies polls, which subsequently echoed across the country with the Congress taking up a campaign. In fact, the Mr. Revanth Reddy had referred to how the Expert Group led by Justice Sudershan Reddy had praised the survey as scientific, authentic, and reliable, and a potential model for the rest of the country. The expert group felt that the methodology adopted was thorough and exemplary. It recommended to use the data to fine-tune existing welfare schemes and design future policies focused on upliftment of weaker sections, and bridging inequalities. The findings, which were tabled in both the Houses of Telangana Legislature, were later referred to the working Group headed by Justice Sudershan Reddy. The group headed by the former Supreme Court Judge was tasked with studying and interpreting the extensive data. Farmer's family to legal profession Justice Sudershan Reddy was born on 8th July, 1946, at Akula Mylaram of Kandakur mandal in Rangareddy district. He hails from an agricultural family. He studied in Hyderabad and graduated in Law from Osmania University. His legal career spans more than five decades. After competing Law in 1971, Justice Reddy joined the office of a senior Advocate K. Pratap Reddy handling cases in the City Civil Court and gradually moving in to fight cases in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. He rose to become the Judge of High Court of Andhra Pradesh in 1995 and went on to head the Guwahati High Court as Chief Justice. In 2007, he was appointed as Judge of Supreme Court of India and retired in 2011. Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy took to X (formerly Twitter) appealing to all Telugu parties to support the candidature of Justice Sudarshan Reddy, a distinguished jurist, in the upcoming Vice President electionS.
