Take up issues raised in Full Court: SC Bar

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 13 

A day after four senior judges of the Supreme Court virtually revolted against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra for allegedly allocating cases in an arbitrary manner, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) today requested that all issues raised by the judges be discussed in a Full Court (comprising all judges of the Supreme Court). 

The Bar Council of India (BCI), meanwhile, cautioned against politicising the matter. After a meeting of office-bearers, BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said: “People have faith in the judiciary. Politicising the issue will have serious repercussions for democracy. 

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He said the BCI would on Sunday send a seven-member delegation to meet the Supreme Court judges to find a way out. To start with, it would meet judges other than the CJI and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph, who had publicly aired their grievances.

“The issues raised by the four judges should be considered by the CJI and resolved,” Mishra said, while praising the government for keeping away from the controversy. 

In an unprecedented move, the apex court’s four seniormost judges — Justices Chelameswar, Gogoi, Lokur and Joseph — had on Friday assembled at Justice Chelameswar’s residence for a press conference. “The situation in the Supreme Court is not in order and many less than desirable things have taken place in the last few months,” they had said.

The Supreme Court Bar Association, after an emergency meeting of its executive committee, requested that all issues raised by the four judges be discussed in a Full Court. Vikas Singh, SCBA president, said the executive unanimously resolved that all PILs, including those listed for January 15, be heard by the CJI or the top four judges. 

“The differences reported at the press conference by the four senior judges and  other differences reflected in newspapers are of grave concern and should be immediately considered by the Full Court,” an SCBA resolution read. “It is also further unanimously resolved... that all PIL matters should be either taken up by the Chief Justice of India, or if he has to assign to any other Bench, it should be assigned to the judges in the Collegium. 

“Even the matters listed on January 15 should be transferred as per our request,” the resolution further read. 

A PIL filed by a Maharashtra journalist for an independent probe into the mysterious death in 2014 of judge BH Loya — who was dealing with the Sohrabudin Sheikh fake encounter case in which BJP chief Amit Shah was named — is also listed for hearing on January 15 before a Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra. 

Stressing that the dignity of the institution must be protected and preserved, Vikas Singh said: “We are sending a copy of our resolution to the CJI with a request to take quick action on it.” 

The executive committee of the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association passed a resolution requesting all stakeholders to exercise restraint.