2018 Supreme Court of India crisis

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Jasti Chelameswar.jpg
The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind at the inauguration of the National Conference, organised by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-record Association (SCAORA), in New Delhi (cropped).JPG
The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind at the inauguration of the National Conference, organised by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-record Association (SCAORA), in New Delhi (Kurian Joseph) (cropped).JPG
The Judge, Supreme Court of India, Justice Madan B. Lokur delivering the valedictory address, at the 35th National Symposium of Heads of Police Training Institutions, in New Delhi on March 24, 2017 (cropped).jpg
The four judges:

The Supreme Court of India was in crisis after a press conference was given by Supreme Court judges Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur, and Kurian Joseph, in which they spoke against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra [1] [2] that he allocated certain politically controversial cases to such benches which gives favourable judgements towards a political party.

Contents

The judges mentioned the allocation of the case of investigation of death of Special CBI Judge — BH Loya, who was presiding over Sohrabuddin encounter case, in which the BJP President Amit Shah and Rohith Shah was the prime accused.

Background

On 12 January 2018, four Supreme Court judges Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph gave a press meeting in an unprecedented manner. Chelameswar said, “We tried to collectively persuade the chief justice that certain things are not in order and therefore you should take remedial measures....Unfortunately, our efforts failed.” He also said, “that unless this institution is preserved and it maintains its equanimity, democracy will not survive in this country.” The occurred after Misra headed the bench which dismissed the CJAR petition against him, and after the Justice Loya case had attracted scrutiny. [3] The allegations against Misra were related to the allotment of matters to benches and constituting Constitution Benches in a way that arbitrarily ignored Senior Judges of the Court. That important cases were heard by benches headed by Dipak Misra. The judges claimed to have a written a letter to Dipak Misra for which they had not received a reply. [4] [5] [6] [7] After the press conference, Misra created a new judicial roster which excluded those who spoke against him from all constitution benches. [8]

Proposed impeachment of the Chief Justice of India

On 20 April 2018, seven opposition parties submitted a petition seeking impeachment of Dipak Misra to the Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, with signatures from 71 parliamentarians. [9] On 23 April 2018, the petition was rejected by Venkaiah Naidu. [10]

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The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial authority and the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases. It also has the power of judicial review. The Chief Justice of India is the head of the Supreme Court, which consists of a maximum of 34 judges, and has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vice President of India</span> Second-highest constitutional office of India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Justice of India</span> Judicial Service Group A Gazetted Officer

The chief justice of India is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation with the outgoing chief justice, the next chief justice, who will serve until they reach the age of sixty-five or are removed by impeachment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranganath Misra</span> 21st Chief Justice of India

Ranganath Mishra was the 21st Chief Justice of India, serving from 25 September 1990 to 24 November 1991. He was also the first chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He also served as Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from the Congress Party between 1998 and 2004. He is the second Supreme court judge to become a Rajya Sabha member after Baharul Islam who was also elected as Indian National Congress member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasti Chelameswar</span> Former Judge of Supreme Court of India

Jasti Chelameswar is the former Judge of Supreme Court of India. He retired on 22 June 2018 as the second most senior Supreme court judge. Earlier, he was the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and Gauhati High Court. He was also one of the 4 judges who held a controversial press conference against the Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranjan Gogoi</span> 46th Chief Justice of India, Member of Rajya Sabha

Ranjan Gogoi is an Indian former advocate and former judge who served as the 46th Chief Justice of India from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India from 2012 to 2018. He is serving as a Member of the Rajya Sabha, having been nominated by President Ram Nath Kovind on 16 March 2020. Gogoi served as a judge on Gauhati High Court from 2001 to 2010, and then was transferred as a judge to Punjab and Haryana High Court from 2010 to 2011 where he later became chief justice from 2011 to 2012. He is also serving as a member of the Committee on External Affairs in the Rajya Sabha.

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Dipak Misra is an Indian jurist who served as the 45th Chief Justice of India from 28 August 2017 till 2 October 2018. He is also former Chief Justice of the Patna High Court and Delhi High Court. He is the nephew of Justice Ranganath Misra, who was the 21st Chief Justice from 1990 to 1991.

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Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur is an Indian jurist. He is a Judge of Supreme Court of Fiji. He is former Judge of Supreme Court of India. He is also former Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court and Gauhati High Court and Judge of Delhi High Court.

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Kuttiyil Mathew Joseph is a judge of Supreme Court of India. He is former chief justice of Uttarakhand High Court. Before his appointment as chief justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand on 31 July 2014, he had served as a judge of Kerala High Court for more than 9 years.

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Narayan Shukla (born 18 July 1958) also known as SN Shukla was an Allahabad High Court Judge. The Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has written to the President of India recommending his removal for his alleged involvement in the medical college admission scam.

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References

  1. ↑ "Stunning mutiny in Supreme Court ranks, 4 judges take on Chief Justice of India". The Economic Times. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "Top 4 SC judges revolt against Chief Justice, question 'biased decisions'". Deccan Chronicle. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Dev, Atul. "Dipak Misra's shadow over the Supreme Court". The Caravan. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  4. ↑ "Turmoil in Supreme Court: Top developments". The Times of India . 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "India Supreme Court judges: Democracy is in danger". BBC News . 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Top judges angry about functioning of India's Supreme Court". Fox News. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Ashok Sharma (12 January 2018). "Judges angry about functioning of India's Supreme Court". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  8. ↑ Dev, Atul. "Dipak Misra's shadow over the Supreme Court". The Caravan. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  9. ↑ "Chief Justice Dipak Misra Faces Impeachment Motion, 71 Have Signed: 10 Facts". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  10. ↑ Phukan, Sandeep (2018-04-23). "Venkaiah Naidu rejects impeachment notice against CJI; Opposition MPs are "unsure of their own case," he says". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2023-05-11.
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