New Delhi, May 7 (IANS): The Supreme Court Monday reserved its order on a petition seeking a presidential reference into allegations of misconduct against National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman K.G. Balakrishnan when he was the chief justice of India.

Besides allegations of misconduct against Justice Balakrishnan, it has also been alleged in the public suit that his two sons-in-law and brother amassed wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income when he was in the Supreme Court from 2007 to 2010.

An apex court bench headed by Justice B.S. Chauhan was told that even Justice Balakrishnan's official cook was given Rs.2 crore by the then Tamil Nadu chief minister from his discretionary quota.

The court asked counsel Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for petitioner NGO Common Cause, whether it could direct the government to ask the president to make a reference to the apex court for enquiring into the allegations against Justice Balakrishnan.

Bhushan told the court it was an open and shut case, and the intervention of the court was the only way out to bring the truth as the government has not decided on the complaint against Justice Balakrishnan for nearly a year.