India

Cracks in Indian Judiciary, 4 Senior most Judges of the Supreme Court take on the Chief Justice


India’s top judiciary is sharply split, with four of India’s senior-most judges today launching an unprecedented attack on Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, over the allocation of cases at a press conference on Friday, warning a lack of impartiality could imperil India’s democracy.

Indian Supreme Court Judges who have criticised CJI
(From left to right) Justice J Chelameshwar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Kurien Joseph and Justice Madan Lokur.

The press conference by Justices J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph, appears to have blown the lid off a growing rift between the senior judges and Chief Justice Misra. The four, along with the CJI, are part of the Supreme Court collegium that selects judges to the apex court and high courts.

The clash comes in the wake of a controversial order in November in which the CJI declared that the chief justice “is the master of the roster” having exclusive power to decide which case will go to which judge.

“This is an extraordinary event in the history of any nation, more particularly this nation, and an extraordinary event in the institution of judiciary … It is with no pleasure that we are compelled to call this press conference. But sometimes administration of the Supreme Court is not in order and many things which are less than desirable have happened in the last few months,” said justice Chelameswar at the press conference held at his house in Delhi.

Justice Chelameswar, the second-most senior judge in the Supreme Court after the chief justice, said: “We tried to persuade the CJI to take steps but failed. Unless the institution of Supreme Court is preserved, democracy won’t survive in this country.”

He added that the four had met chief justice Misra with a “specific request” but were unable to convince him, reported Hindustan Times.

“…We were left with no choice except to communicate it to the nation that please take care of the institution…Don’t want people to say 20 years later that we did not take care of the institution,” said Justice Chelameswar.

After the four judges held a press conference, the first in the history of India’s judiciary, at the New Delhi residence of Justice J Chelameswar, CJI Dipak Misra met Attorney General KK Venugopal.

The Narendra Modi government, meanwhile, is cautious and watching the situation from a distance. Although Modi called Law Ministr Ravi Shankar Prasad and other ministers to his office today, there has been no official response from the government. Sources in the government said it is waiting for Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to take a position on the matter before it responds.

Former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee told India Today he was “disappointed” that top Supreme Court judges went to the press. “They should have gone to the CJI. This doesn’t bode well for public image of the judiciary. Judiciary shouldn’t come across as a divided house,” he said.

Adam Rizvi

Adam Rizvi

Adam Rizvi has a unique talent for publishing to marketing to managing projects, writers & assigning the task to correspondents. Edits an e-paper & cover the news. An activist, spend time with family & friends. His adorable daughters, Alizah & Anum are his lifelines. He spends his time reading, swimming, hiking, cycling, and watching with them their favorite TV shows, & fixing the Big Old House where he lives. Studied literature & management. Volunteer for non-profits. President of a Travel Agency. Publisher. Circulated the newspapers. Acted & Assisted in directing & production of the award-winning film & TV Serial. Scripted a little. Modeled. Emceed the live shows & judged competitions. A caring sibling and was an obedient son of his late doting parents whom he misses dearly. Adam uses his various positions & experiences in building a strong relationship with all. Appreciates his articles being read, commented, liked, and shared. He can be reached at his personal email: mediaiss@gmail.com.

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