Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra met his four senior- most colleagues on Thursday to discuss issues raised by them at a press conference on January 12.
This is the second time the Chief Justice has reached out Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph this week in a bid to “sort out” the issues.
But a source close to the four judges said, “There are too many issues” other than the roster at stake. The source said the discussions between the CJI and the four judges, over the past weeks since the January 12 press conference, have not resulted in anything substantial.
“The roster is only one of the things. Everybody is focussing on the roster because of the significance of that particular day (January 12). But there are too many issues other than the roster,” the source close to the four judges said.
The press meet was held on the same day that a Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra heard two PILs seeking an independent probe into the death of CBI judge B.H. Loya. At the press meet, Justice Gogoi had confirmed that the immediate trigger for the four of them going public was the allocation of the Loya PILs to Justice Mishra’s Bench. The press meet saw the judges reveal that they had met the CJI on the morning of January 12 about the allocation of the Loya PILs.
A letter written by the four judges to CJI Misra, which was circulated at the press meet, had also raised questions about the allocation of “sensitive cases” to “preferred Benches” in recent times by Chief Justices.
A few days after the press meet, Justices Mishra and Mohan M. Shantanagoudar chose to recuse from hearing the Loya PILs. This recusal had coincided with the first round of discussions the CJI had with the four judges in a bid to break the ice.
Presently, a Bench led by Chief Justice Misra is hearing the Loya PILs. On January 22, the CJI Bench assured the petitioners that it would dispassionately examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Loya and reach an objective conclusion.
The source close to the four judges said the government has not approached them. On the aspect that some political leaders have voiced an opinion to impeach the CJI, the source did not comment.
The source however, said all four judges still stand together for the issues raised by them.
