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Justice Jasti Chelameswar, the second senior most judge of the Supreme Court, has called a press conference at his house at noon today. The reason for the meeting has not been announced.
It is being reported that the benches in Courtrooms 2 and 4 of the Supreme Court have risen. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul sits on the bench in Courtroom 2 with Justice Chelameswar. Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta form the bench in Courtroom 4.
An investigation by The Caravan magazine in December 2017 had raised concerns regarding the circumstances of Judge Loya's death.
Justice Chelameswar had referred the matters in the medical bribery cases – filed last year by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms and senior advocate Kamini Jaiswal – to a Constitution Bench. However, the case saw Chief Justice Dipak Misra exercising his powers as master of the roster to reverse the decision.
Addressing the gathering at the lawns of his residence, Justice Chelameswar said this is “an extraordinary event in the history of the nation”.
“With no pleasure we are compelled to take the decision to call a press conference. The administration of the SC is not in order and many things which are less than desirable have happened in the last few months,” he said.
Chelameswar was accompanied by Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Kurian Joseph, and Madan Lokur.
“Judicial independence is key to the survival of democracy,” Justice Chelameswar said, adding:
Training his guns on the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice Chelameswar said: "We tried to persuade the CJI (even today morning) but we failed. Our efforts to seek remedial measures failed. Unless this institution is preserved, democracy will not survive in this country,” he said.
Chelameswar said that a few months ago, the four judges had submitted a letter to the CJI seeking “a particular thing to be done in a particular manner”.
“It was done, but in such a way that it raised further questions on the integrity of institution,” he said.
When asked by a reporter if the case in question pertains to the mystery surrounding the death of Judge Loya, Justice Chelameswar replied in the affirmative.
“We are not running politics here. We don’t want to make statements and someone else makes another statement,” he said. When asked if Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra should be impeached, Chelameswar said: “We’re not saying anything. Let the nation decide that".
The letter that Justice Jasti Chelameswar referred to at the press conference has been released to the public. “We will give you a copy of the letter which we had written two months back. All the issues are spelt out there. Go through it, you will know all the issues,” he had said.
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According to reports, two more judges have met Justice Chelameswar over the issue to express their support in the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and discussed the allegations raised by the SC judges at the press conference, ANI reported.
"What has been spoken about is judicial predictability. It's a cornerstone of justice - which cases go to which bench needs to be predictable and determined by subject matter, seniority, the computerised SC system etc. It gives a certain assurance to the litigant that justice is being done,” Supreme Court Advocate Karuna Nundy told The Quint.
“The outcome of a particular case may not be different but the process of who decides, in a predictable manner, is something that is quite important," Nundy said.
“I think it's a historic press conference,” Supreme Court advocate Indira Jaising told ANI. "I think we, the people of India, have a right to know what is going on within the judiciary and I welcome this,” she was quoted as saying.”
"CJI Dipak Misra is misusing his power and this must stop. It’s extremely dangerous for our democracy. The for judges have made the people aware about how power is being misused within SC," SC lawyer Prashant Bhushan told CNN-News18.
Slamming the conference, former High Court judge RS Sodhi told ANI: “I think all four judges should be impeached. They should be shut out. They should be sent home. They have no place now to give judicial decisions. They’ve started a trade union there. They should be sent home.”
See more reactions by the legal fraternity to the move on The Quint.
CJI Dipak Misra and AG KK Venugopal held a meeting about the press conference, sources told ANI. However, Bar and Bench later reported that the meeting was in connection to the Unitech case and not the developments of the day.
Opposition Congress took to Twitter to react to the developments.
Read more highlights of the letter here.
The government is caught in a "fix" over the SC judges' press meet, former Supreme Court judge AK Ganguly told CNN-News18. He told the news channel:
RM Lodha, the 41st Chief Justice of India told NDTV that the “grievances” of the top court judges should be addressed by the CJI Dipak Misra.
The issues raised by the four senior Supreme Court judges in the unprecedented press conference are an "internal" matter of the judiciary, highly placed sources told PTI.
The government has no say in it and does not wish to interfere, sources said, adding that the apex court should settle the issue at the earliest as the faith of the people in the judiciary is at stake.
However, they also added that the apex court should settle the issue at the earliest as the faith of the people in the judiciary is at stake.
Government sources also told News18 that the government is the arbiter of “society and not judiciary.”
Bar Council of India reportedly said that it was “unaware of judges' internal matter”. The Council is expected to meet tomorrow to discuss issue, reported News18.
The Quint breaks down the letter to CJI Dipak Misra from four senior judges of the Supreme Court.
Congress leader and senior advocate Kapil Sibal will meet party president Rahul Gandhi at 5 pm on Friday, 12 January to discuss the press conference by the four Supreme Court judges, reported ANI.
Senior lawyer and human rights activist Vrinda Grover hailed the four justices of Supreme Court for their public statement. In a Facebook post, she wrote:
Former Union Law Minister Hansraj Bharadwaj said that the allegations made by the apex court judges “was a loss of prestige for the entire institution.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reacted to the allegations made by the four judges of the Supreme Court, saying that she was “deeply” anguished by the developments. She added that “extreme interference” of the central government with the judiciary was “dangerous.”
The Supreme Court on Friday, 12 January, sought the postmortem report of Judge BH Loya from the Maharashtra government.
Observing that the matter was "very serious," the Bench listed for hearing the pleas seeking an independent probe into the case on 15 January, reported Live Law.
At the press conference, the justices had replied in the affirmative when asked if the matter of contention was related to the Judge Loya case.
Read more about the Judge Loya case here.
Senior CPI leader D Raja, following his meeting with Justice Chelameswar on Friday, said that he would not give the meet a “political colour.”
Congress leaders and senior advocates Salman Khurshid, Manish Tewari and P Chidambaram arrived at party president Rahul Gandhi's residence, according to reports. The party leaders are expected to discuss the allegations raised by the SC judges at a party press conference shortly.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, speaking to News18, said that the press conference by the judges was a significant moment for the “evolution of our democracy.”
Former attorney general Shrihari Aney said that it was important to understand what led to the judges to take such a step.
Senior advocate Rebecca John said that democracy functioned in “open spaces and not behind opaque doors,” adding that the issue was about institutional integrity. In a Facebook post, the lawyer wrote:
Attorney General KK Venugopal said the move by the senior-most Supreme Court judges to hold a press conference "could have been avoided," and the judges would now have to act in "statesmanship" to ensure complete harmony.
Venugopal, who held a meeting with CJI Dipak Misra after the press conference, expressed hope that all judges, including the CJI, would rise to the occasion and "wholy neutralise" the "divisiveness," reported PTI.
Senior advocate Kamini Jaiswal weighed in on the controversy surrounding the letter sent to the CJI Misra.
Congress spokesperson RS Surjewala said that the observations made by the serving SC judges are “extremely disturbing and have far reaching consequences.”
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi on the allegations made by the top court judges earlier in the day, said that all citizens who “love the idea of justice” are looking at this issue.
Gandhi demanded the highest-level of investigation in Justice Loya’s death, as hinted by the judges.
Top Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy breaks down the controversial letter sent by the judges to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee said that the press conference by the serving judges would create more problems.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) released a statement applauding the judges who went public with their grievances.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra, at a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi, said that the allegations made by the apex court judges was the internal matter of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Bar Association will hold a press conference today addressing the allegations leveled by four senior Supreme Court judges yesterday over the administration of the judicial system.
The Principal Secretary to the prime minister, Nripendra Misra, was reportedly denied an appointment to meet with CJI Dipak Misra today.
Nripendra Misra was seen leaving CJI Dipak Misra’s residence earlier today morning. According to reports, Misra attempted to meet with the CJI, but could not get an appointment had to leave after waiting for 5-7 minutes.
Justice Kurian Joseph, one of the four senior Supreme Court judges who targeted the country's chief justice over "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders, on Saturday expressed confidence that the issues raised by them would be resolved.
Joseph said that they acted solely in the interest of judiciary and justice, a day after he and the three other judges took the unprecedented step of addressing a press conference.
He rejected suggestions that they had violated discipline and expressed the hope that their actions will bring in more transparency in the administration of the Supreme Court.
"Stood up for justice and judiciary....that is what we said there (in New Delhi) yesterday. Nothing beyond that," Justice Joseph said in Malayalam when local television news channels approached him at his ancestral home in Kalady, seeking his reaction on yesterday's development.
"An issue has come to attention. It will certainly be solved since it has come to the attention," he told reporters.
According to NDTV, Attorney General KK Venugopal on Saturday assured that unity among the Supreme Court judges would return by Monday.
Earlier in the day, he had voiced his hopes that the situation would soon come under control and that “everything goes down very well.”
The Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association released a statement urging the concerned stakeholders to “exercise restraint” and solve the issues “internally and within the constitutional framework.”
The Supreme Court Bar Association along with the Bar Council of India holds a meeting in New Delhi. According to CNN-News18, BCI chairman said they will try and meet all the 25 judges in SC tomorrow and get the issue resolved.
Due to the non-availability of Justice M Shantanagoudar, the bench comprising Justice Arun Mishra will not be hearing Justice Loya Death case on Monday. The case might get shifted to Tuesday.
“We have unanimously decided to form a seven-member delegation of the Council who will meet Honourable judges of the Supreme Court. We want that the matter be solved at the earliest,” said Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman, Bar Council of India.
They will meet the SC judges at 9 am tomorrow. He urged all political parties to not politicise the matter as it is the judiciary’s internal matter.
Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh briefs the media about two resolutions that were passed during their meet. He said that the association has unanimously decided that differences stated by the four judges and reflected in media are of grave concern and urged they be resolved immediately.
The second resolution states all PIL matters must be heard by the CJI or must be assigned to the collegium of five judges.
Singh also said that he will meet the Chief Justice of India before they meet the four senior SC judges.
The second resolution passed by SCBA means that, if approved, Judge Loya’s case will also be moved to a senior judge’s court.
Bar Council of India Chairperson after Bar Council delegation after meeting Justice Chelameswar on Sunday said that there was “no crisis.”
The Delhi Bar Association said that this was was a first-of-its kind incident and a black day for them.
“The Chief Justice of India should have looked into the matter beforehand. He should have called a meeting to handle things,” the association said.
Late Justice BH Loya’s son Anuj Loya, in a press conference, said that the family is pained with the chain of events in past few days. They said that it was a “matter of great regret,” and requested people to not harass them.
Speaking about his father’s death, he said that he did not have “any suspicion and it's clear.” Answering a question, he said there was suspicion earlier during the “emotional turmoil period but not now.”
Justice Loya’s lawyer Ameer Naik said:
Anuj further added that he was no one to decide whether there should be a further probe.
The SC judges on 12 January hinted that the ongoing tussle may be linked to Justice Loya’s death.
Bar Council of India delegation met Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde and Justice Kurian Joseph at their residences in Delhi on Sunday, 14 January.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh met Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra at his residence on Sunday, 14 January.
The court will resume business on Monday, 15 January.
The Bar Council of India delegation arrived at CJI Dipak Misra’s residence to discuss the SC dispute, reported Bar and Bench.
A seven-member delegation of Bar Council of India (BCI) met at the residence of CJI Dipak Misra to discuss the crisis in the judiciary. In a meeting that lasted 50 minutes, Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh met CJI Dipak Misra and handed over the SCBA resolution. The panel told PTI that they met the CJI in a congenial atmosphere and he said everything would be sorted out soon.
In a first-of-its-kind event, four most senior judges from the Supreme Court held a press conference on Friday, 12 January, to address the crumbling administration of the judiciary.
The press conference was addressed by Justice Jasti Chelameswar, along with Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Kurian Joseph, and Madan Lokur.
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