Senior Supreme Court judges Ranjan Gogoi and Madan Lokur have written to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, asking him to call a “full court” to discuss “institutional issues”, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. Justice Gogoi is expected to succeed Misra after he retires in October.
The two-sentence letter, delivered to the chief justice on Sunday, also urged Misra to call a meeting of all the Supreme Court judges to discuss the court’s future. The letter was submitted just two days after 64 MPs from seven Opposition parties moved an impeachment motion against Misra. The motion included five charges against the chief justice, but Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu dismissed it on Monday, saying the allegations were “mere suspicion, conjecture or an assumption”.
Misra has not yet responded to the letter, The Indian Express reported, citing unidentified officials. During the customary morning meeting of all top court judges over tea on Monday, Misra was evasive about the matter, they added.
This is the latest in a series of letters written by top Supreme Court judges to the chief justice over the past few months. On April 9, Justice Kurian Joseph wrote to Misra and urged the Supreme Court to act against the government’s delay in approving two appointments – that of Justice KM Joseph and Indu Malhotra – to the top court despite the collegium’s recommendation. The “very life and existence” of the Supreme Court is under threat and “history will not pardon us” if the court does not act, Joseph wrote.
On March 21, Justice Jasti Chelameswar wrote to Misra flagging government interference in judiciary. In the letter, the second most-senior judge in the country took exception to the Karnataka Chief Justice launching a inquiry against a subordinate judge based on a complaint forwarded directly by the Union government. Chelameswar had also sought a full court sitting to discuss the problems.
In January, Justices Chelameswar, Gogoi, Lokur and Joseph – the four senior most judges in the Supreme Court after Misra – had raised questions about the way the chief justice allocates cases.
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