In a bid to resolve their differences, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Tuesday, 16 January, met the four senior most judges of the Supreme Court, who held an unprecedented press conference, expressing concerns about the functioning of the apex court.
SC sources said the Chief Justice met the four judges – Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph – for about 15 minutes before starting the normal work of the day.
A few other judges were also present in the meeting, the sources said.
After the meeting, the CJI and the four judges went ahead with their listed business.
Despite optimism expressed by legal bodies, the crisis in the Supreme Court over complaints against the chief justice seemed far from over.
Earlier in the day, Attorney General KK Venugopal told PTI:
I think it (crisis) has not been settled. Lets hope things will be fully settled within two-three days.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh also exuded confidence that there was a likelihood of the crisis being resolved by the end of this week. Venugopal and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had, however, said on 15 January, that the crisis has ended and there was no dispute.
At a press conference on 12 January, the four judges had flagged certain problems, including the assigning of cases by the CJI, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court.
(We Indians have much to talk about these days. But what would you tell India if you had the chance? Pick up the phone and write or record your Letter To India. Don’t be silent, tell her how you feel. Mail us your letter at lettertoindia@thequint.com. We’ll make sure India gets your message.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)