Supreme Court In Turmoil After Four Judges Speak Out Against Chief Justice Of India
Senior Supreme Court judges will meet the press today.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Impeachment Out Of The Question, Says Soli Sorabjee
Expressing his disappointment at the day’s events, former Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee said it will undermine the public image of the judiciary. Taking the issue to the public is not the right way to resolve it, he added.
Ruling out any possibility of an impeachment, Sorabjee said the four judges should, instead, meet the Chief Justice of India and place their issues before him.
Supreme Court is not like a company with minority and majority shareholders. Judges cannot behave like shareholders in a public limited company.Soli Sorabjee, Former Attorney General Of India
Attorney General Of India To BloombergQuint
The rift in Supreme Court should not affect the confidence of the public in India’s judiciary, the Attorney General of India KK Venugopal told BloombergQuint in a phone interview.
He does not see the situation as a “crisis” but said it would have been better for the four judges – Justice Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph – to place issues before all judges of the Supreme Court. They should explain why the matter was not placed before the top court, he added.
Rahul Gandhi Says
Threat to democracy mentioned by the four judges should be looked into, Rahul Gandhi told reporters at a press conference. Justice Loya's death must be looked into by the highest level at the Supreme Court, he added.
Congress Statement
Observations made by the judges and issues raised by them are "extremely disturbing", the Congress said in a statement released ahead of the press conference.
Issues raised by the four judges have far reaching consequence to democracy and independence of judiciary.Congress Statement
Congress Press Conference Starts
Congress President Rahul Gandhi to make a statement before the press shortly on the unprecedented rift in the Supreme Court.
CJI May Meet The Press
After the four senior Justices, the Chief Justice of India - Dipak Misra - will hold a press conference today at 2 p.m., according to ANI. Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, will also accompany him.
Can't Administer SC By Holding Press Conferences, Says RS Sodhi
Supreme Court Advocate Prashant Bhushan lauded the four Justices for “letting the country know that the Chief Justice of India has been abusing his power as the ‘Master of Roster’”.
On the other hand, former Delhi High Court Judge RS Sodhi said that the move was “apalling”.
How can you administer the supreme court by press conferences? Are you going to hold a referendum?...These top four are only in top four because they were appointed as senior in time. That’s all. They’re not the most brilliant judges of the Supreme Court of the country.RS Sodhi, Former Delhi High Court Judge
PM Modi Speaks To Law Minister RS Prasad
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Law Minister RS Prasad about the allegations made by the four apex court judges, ANI reported citing sources.
Breaking Of Ranks?
The unprecedented move seen today, by some of the senior-most judges of the country, is not a “breaking of ranks”, said Advocate Indira Jaising to BloombergQuint.
Judges are expected to act according to their conscience...There shouldn’t be so called ranks between them. They’re all co-equal and have a mind of their own. And if they do believe that something is going wrong and they did believe so, it’s not like they held a press conference without communicating with the Chief Justice of India. They did make efforts. So I don’t think this is a breaking of ranks.Indira Jaising, Advocate
Letter To The Chief Justice Of India
Four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court of India went public with what they called selective allocation of matters of national importance by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, plunging the world’s largest democracy into an unprecedented judicial crisis that threatens to undermine the top court’s credibility.
Here’s the full text of what the four Justices communicated to the CJI.
The Issue Of Allocation Of Cases
Senior Advocate Arvind Datar questioned the need to allocate “important cases” to “less senior” judges in instead of the top Justices. Usually, when the CJI is unable to take up a case, he assigns that case to the second or third Justice in the house, he explained.
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The Last Straw?
The press conference showed a lot of discontent within the judicial institution, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar said to BloombergQuint.
This must’ve been the last straw not being able to persuade the Chief Justice regarding a bench. It seems that this has been brewing for quite some time. There seems to be enormous amount of discontent within the collegium....I think it is a very sad day.Arvind Datar, Senior Advocate
Speaking about the concerns pointed out by Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave regarding the assignment of cases within the apex court, Datar said that he shared these concerns.
Not only my concern but a concern for many of the advocates of the bar. But now when the top four judges apart from the Chief Justice Of India have also expressed similar concerns, it is very grave indeed.Arvind Datar, Senior Advocate
The Issue
On being questioned about the issue that led to the disorder in the institution, Justice Gogoi said that it was related to the assignment of a case. On being asked further if it is about CBI Judge BH Loya, he said, 'yes', ANI reported. The four Justices had earlier met with the Chief Justice of India - Dipak Misra - regarding these issues, they said.
Steps To Preserve Integrity Of Institution Have Failed, Says Justice Chelameswar
The efforts of the senior Supreme Court Judges to preserve the integrity of the judicial institution have failed, said Justice Chelameswar in the press meet. Judicial independence is key to the survival of democracy, he added.
I don’t want some wise men to say that Justice Chelameswar, Lokur and Joseph sold their soul and did not take care of the institution. We just wanted to communicate this to the nation.Justice Chelameswar
Justice Gogoi is also present at the press conference.
Justices Lokur And Joseph Arrive
Joining Justice Chelameswar at his residence, Justices Lokur and Joseph have also arrived. The press conference has begun.
Justice Chelameswar Arrives
Justice Chelameswar, the senior most judge in the apex court after the Chief Justice of India, has arrived at the press meet. Three of the four seats remain empty as of now.
What Senior Advocate Dave Said
Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court Dushyant Dave questions the manner in which the Chief Justice of India has assigned cases to specific benches, bypassing senior judges.
“...little insight into the functioning of today’s Supreme Court will reveal that the Chief Justice has been exercising powers in a completely opaque and unfathomable manner. Several instances in recent months reflect that the Constitution Benches are constituted by including only certain Judges and excluding therefrom certain other Judges,” Dave wrote in a piece originally published on LiveLaw.in.
Read the full text HERE.
Senior Supreme Court Judges To Meet The Press
Senior Supreme Court judges other than the Chief Justice Of India will meet with the press today. Justices Chelameswar and Lokur are not expected to hear any cases for the day in court rooms two and four respectively.
